


Keep It On the Ice

by AyaEisen



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Hockey, Love, Protective Older Brothers, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2018-07-11 09:18:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7042219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AyaEisen/pseuds/AyaEisen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gajeel is an ex NHL player who was banned from the league, now he coaches varsity boys' hockey and is a high school history teacher. He still enjoys playing the game with his long time friend Lily but when a cute little figure skater shakes things up he's hooked. Come to find out she's not all that she appears and she is determined to get him back on the ice permanently.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A bright yellow taxi cub pulled up in front of a large apartment building, it had been easier-and quicker- to just go to her friend's place rather than spend another twenty minutes in the car with her current date. Levy let out a sigh of relief as she handed over her portion of the jewels owed to the taxi driver and stepped out of the car.

"It was a pleasure to meet you! I hope I can see you again!" Her date said as he hung out the window.

"Bye!" Levy turned heel and rolled her eyes as she hurriedly walked up the steps and punched in the code that would unlock the large glass door.

She took the elevator to the tenth floor and stepped out. She didn't feel it necessary to dig through her purse looking for the spare key, Cana was expecting her and would most likely have unlocked the door. Levy stepped up to the door with the numbers 1034 across the top and turned the handle, truth to her thoughts it was indeed unlocked.

"Levs! How was the date?" Cana jumped up from the couch to greet her blue haired friend.

"He wanted to meet my brother." Levy slumped into the living room.

"That's nothing new."

"He wanted to date my brother." She fell with her back onto the couch and covered her face with her hands.

Cana erupted into a fit of laughter, she sat back down on the couch clutching her stomach as tears fell from her eyes.

"Now that's a new one! You've gotta be kidding me?" The look on Levy's face was anything but joking. "Oh my Mavis you're serious! Ahh!"

Levy threw a pillow at her friend and then buried her face under[MS1] [MS2] another.

"I am never dating anyone interested or even remotely interested in hockey again. Mark my words!"

Cana stood up from the couch still wiping the tears from her eyes as she walked over to her bedroom. She walked back out into the living room a few moments later with a duffle bag slung over her shoulder and a smaller bag held out in front of her. Without moving much from the couch Levy reached out and grabbed the strings of the smaller bag and allowed it to softly hit the floor.

"Get up little lady! We're going out!"

"Hrrggg."

…

The familiar cool air and the smell of ice filled her senses and Levy smiled. She was in her own world and hadn't even noticed the two men who were taking up the entire ice rink currently playing hockey. She walked over to a nearby bench and pulled out her ice skates. Cana was already on the ice before Levy had been able to finished lacing up her boots. As she walked out onto the ice she spotted Cana talking with the two men she hadn't taken the time to notice earlier. She wasn't across the rink for long and before Levy was even able to finish her warm ups, Cana had returned.

"They're playing hockey but said they'd give us half the rink unless we wanted to join them. I told them no."

"Good. I swore off the sport and the men involved with it. I just wanna get lost in my music and skate."

"I brought us some water bottles, don't drink out of mine though!"

Levy stifled a laugh, she had snuck alcohol in with her again, she shook her head as Cana smirked back at her. She fished out her iPod, slipped her earbuds in and put her songs on shuffle. The first song to come on was Lola Montez by Volbeat and she soon found her rhythm as she danced across the ice.

She was lost in her own world once again; lost to the melody and the bass line pumping in her ears, as well the occasional sound of her blades scraping against the ice as she landed her jumps. She loved being on the ice, it was her place, her home. She had been scouted numerous times to skate professionally but she had no interest, she wanted to do it for solely for fun. She had watched how her brother had turned his love for hockey into his career and how more often than not it had turned into his job rather than his passion, she didn't want that to happen to her and the love she had for figure skating.

She didn't share her passion of skating with many people, but when she did they didn't find it at all surprising. They just thought her love for the ice came from a little sister's desire to be noticed by her hotshot big brother. They couldn't be more wrong. He had indeed taught her to skate when she was young and soon it came as easy as walking to her. She was close to her brother and watched him grow as an athlete, when they're parents passed away she had encouraged him to keep going and to not worry about her.

Her brother had been drafted by the Crocus Cyclones and after she graduated high school she was accepted into Crocus University; her brother had insisted on paying her tuition. She was thankful for him, even with his high profile sports career he still made time for her and made sure she was doing okay. After college she got a job in their hometown of Magnolia as a fourth grade language arts teacher.

After a few songs had come and gone Cana finally flagged her down and skated up to her. Levy pulled out her earbuds and draped them around her neck as Cana pointed towards the two men at the opposite end of the rink.

"Have you been watching them at all?"

Levy shook her head and turned to look at the men she was pointing at. They were both large, as Cana would say "muscle for days" and built beyond belief. The larger of the two was a dark skinned man and the other was a little bit darker than Cana's complexion; Levy was unfortunately the ever pale one.

"I've not been paying the least bit of attention to them, to be honest."

"They're good. _Really good._ Especially the one who has the puck right now."

Levy watched him as he moved the puck around the ice with ease, he was good, he clearly knew what he was doing. The dark skinned man was currently positioned at the goal and in the brief time she watched he had been lucky to block only two of his friend's shots even with his massive size as an advantage. She continued to watch them, paying closer attention to the man with the puck and that's when she finally noticed it.

"Cana. He has a man-bun." She said as she shot her hand out and gripped her brown-haired friend's arm.

"And the panties come off!" Levy glowered at her taller friend while smacking her in reply, "He also has a hockey stick and a puck and you swore those off."

"That doesn't mean I can't enjoy the view!"

"You ladies gonna take a picture or just keep staring?"

Levy blinked and realized the gorgeous man-bun was yelling at them. She quickly turned around attempting to play off the fact she had indeed been staring but when she heard the shuffle of ice skates behind her she knew she'd been caught.

"Figure skating, eh?"

Levy turned around to look at the man, "Excuse me?"

"I saw you twirlin' around earlier. Yer a figure skater?"

"Oh, not professionally. Just for fun. You play hockey?"

Man-bun nodded in agreement at her and Levy soon realized this conversation was going nowhere.

"Where's your friend? The goalie."

"He went to the lockers. What about yours?"

Levy quickly looked to her right where she thought Cana had been standing but was shocked to see her friend had bailed on her, she spun around looking for her but didn't see her anywhere.

"I have no idea actually. Cana was just here. Oh! I'm Levy!" She held her hand out and smiled.

"Gajeel," reluctantly he returned her hand shake and then quickly dropped it, "My friend is Lily. Don't even comment on his name, he ain't no puss."

"I said nothing!" Levy held her hands up in the air in a defensive manner.

The faint sound of Levy's cell phone ringing broke up the awkward tension between the two and she excused herself to rush over to where her duffle bag was. She grabbed her phone and turned back around to see Gajeel was already back at the far side of the rink, Lily had come back from the lockers and they were talking. Without paying much attention she pushed the green button on her iPhone's screen.

"Hello?"

_"Nugget! How was the date? I never heard from ya!"_

Levy rolled her eyes, of course her brother would be calling. "He was more interested in you. Pretty sure he wanted to date you!"

_"I'm sorry, Nugget! But that is pretty funny! Anyway, I wanted to let you know I've got you and Cana tickets to my next home game, they'll be at the box office. They're damn good seats too, you can almost smell the blood!"_

"You're a hockey player, not a UFC fighter, that's kinda gross. Oh well, Cana will be excited."

_"Don't even lie, you're excited too! Anyway, I have to go, I'll talk to you later!"_

"Bye!"

_"Later Nugget!"_

The line disconnected and she threw the phone back in her bag. She looked back towards Gajeel and Lily and was disappointed to find they had already left. She started taking her skates off when Cana reappeared.

"Where were you?"

"Places. You done? Crashing at my place or heading home?"

"Mhm and I'm gonna head home, I have to work tomorrow."

…

Levy walked into her small house and trudged right into her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed. She had been able to save up enough for a down payment and bought herself a house just outside the main part of the city in a quaint little neighborhood. It was small, very small, but it was home and it was her's. She was so proud of it, even if her best friend's apartment could trump the place. It had two rooms, the second housed all of her books; besides her love for the ice she also had a strong love for books.

She managed enough energy to pull herself from the comfortable confines of her bed and change into a pair of pajama shorts and a loose shirt. She prepped her school bag for the morning and set the timer on her coffee pot. When she was all said and done she lazily walked back to her bedroom and climbed into bed, pulling the covers up under her chin and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, she awoke sore from her late night skate session, she popped an ibuprofen with her morning coffee, grabbed her bags and walked out to her car. The morning was fairly warm for February, and she was thankful she didn't have to thaw her car out. She hadn't set her alarm the previous night early enough to compensate for iced over windows and she breathed a sigh of relief as she opened the door to her Toyota Camry and started the engine.

…

"I said hustle! I thought I was coaching varsity hockey not junior varsity cheerleaders!"

A loud chorus of grumbles could be heard as the high school boys' varsity hockey team finished up their end of practice suicide drills.

"Coach Redfox, are we done yet?"

"You were, but for asking two more sets then you can be done."

"UGH!"

Gajeel clapped his hands and shouted a few more "hustles" towards the team then stood back crossing his arms.

"Be easy on them, my boy! They're undefeated, they deserve a break!"

"If I give them an ounce to slack then they won't hold that title anymore Principle Dreyer. They're proud of that title and they've worked for it. They can take it easy after we win the championship!"

Gajeel was proud of his team, he pushed them to their limits and as much as they complained they were also appreciative of his dedication to them. The varsity hockey team hadn't been this good in years before he came to Magnolia High and took over as coach.

"Very well! I look forward to seeing that trophy in the front lobby!"

The small old man trotted away as Gajeel beamed back at him. He was looking forward to seeing that trophy as well.

"Alright guys, bring it in!"


	2. Chapter 2

A few weeks had come and gone and Levy had found herself crushing on Gajeel. She had been spending more time at the ice rink than she normally did, she was usually there in the mornings, but soon found herself accommodating to his schedule and coming in at night. She had learned he was a high school history teacher and also taught the boys' varsity hockey team. She inwardly sighed at herself for once again getting herself involved in the hockey world. She blamed her brother.

"I'm going to ask him."

Levy spoke quietly to Cana as they were lacing up their boots.

"On a date? Little Levy McGarden is putting on her big girl pants and asking a guy on a date! I'm so proud of you!"

"Would you keep it down?! Just announce it to the whole rink why don't you?"

Cana's lips turned up in a devilish grin and she stood up putting her hands to her mouth and took a deep breath as if she were going to yell for everyone to hear.

"Cana! NO!" Levy pulled her friend back down to the bench and smacked her arm, this was becoming a reoccurring trend between the two girls.

Cana laughed and shook her head, "You're too easy!"

The brunette stood up from the bench and pulled her petite friend along with her to the ice. She glided around her in circles as Levy stared off at nothing in particular.

"Where are you going to take him? And since you're the one asking does that mean you're the one paying? How does this even work, girls asking guys?"

"Are you daft? Didn't you ask Bacchus? And I don't know, I guess maybe dinner? I've not got that far!"

Levy spun backwards and crisscrossed her legs as she glided about the ice, keeping an eye on the door. It was nearly time for the two men to show up and her nerves were not working in her favor.

"Nah, he asked me. Which reminds me, our anniversary is coming up!"

The large metal doors clanged shut as the man of the hour flanked by his much larger friend strolled in dragging their equipment behind them. Lily worked on setting up the goal and net while Gajeel was digging through his bag for what Levy could only assume was a puck.

When he finally looked over to meet her glances she waved and innocently pushed back a stray hair. He waved back, grabbed his stick and glided onto the ice to take over putting up the goal so Lily could put on his equipment.

"When are you going to ask him?"

"Now." Levy took a deep breath and kicked off the ice in the direction of the two men.

Lily was still busy putting on his goalie equipment so Levy skated over to Gajeel as he was just finishing attaching the net.

"Hi Gajeel!"

Gajeel looked over his shoulder and grunted, "Hey Shorty."

"How was your day?"

"It was alright. The team won again yesterday, we go to the championship next week, wish us luck!"

"That's wonderful! Congratulations! Good luck to them and you!"

Levy took a deep breath and decided this was a good opportunity if any to ask him.

"I'd love to go and watch! Maybe you and me could get dinner together afterwards?"

Gajeel froze then shifted his weight as he cocked an eyebrow and looked down at the smaller woman.

"Are ya asking me out on a date, Shorty?"

Levy turned bright red and shifted her gaze from him.

"Um, it doesn't have to be a date."

"I'm flattered, really, I am. But, you're just not quite my type, Shorty. Sorry. I need someone a little rougher around the edges to deal with me and you're just too cute with your twirls and jumps."

He ruffled the hair on the top of her head and laughed a hearty, peculiar laugh. Levy had turned red for an entirely different reason at this point and with the puff of her cheeks she spun around and took off towards Cana, not even bothering to reply to the hello Lily had said to her.

…

"What was that about today?"

Lily asked Gajeel as they were leaving the ice rink that night.

"Little one asked me on a date."

"And you were an ass and turned her down, I'm guessing?" Lily frowned.

Gajeel glowered at the man and crossed his arms, "I can't date a tiny thing like that! She's all proper and cute and innocent and cute and tiny and cute and dear Mavis Lily have you seen that girl's ass?"

"I'm a married man Gajeel, I don't tend to look at other women's backsides. And from your description I am finding difficulty in trying to figure out why you told her no."

"I enjoy bashing men up against a wall and making them bleed. I spend more time in a penalty box than I do on the ice. She spins and jumps around like a shrimp!"

"You use to spend more time in a penalty box, and because of that it got you into trouble!"

"Well then that should be reason enough for me to not date her!"

Gajeel huffed and climbed into his truck, slamming the door shut. Lily climbed into the passenger seat and sighed shaking his head.

"You don't give yourself enough credit, the old man saw something in you. Enough to give you a second chance, so lighten up."

Gajeel grunted in reply, as he was putting the truck in reverse and preparing to leave the complex he spotted the blue haired girl across the parking lot. Her friend, Cana, had her arm draped over the girl's shoulders and gave her a quick hug before she got into her car. He exhaled a long, loud sigh as he realized he was probably the cause of her being down.

…

Over the next week Levy had done her best to avoid the awkwardness, she wasn't going to allow this man to have a hold on her and know he had really struck her ego. He wanted someone more rough around the edges, she'd give him just that. She asked Cana to make a playlist for her and upped her usual skating routines from something a little less "fluffy" to something a lot more "fierce."

Cana had enjoyed the extra kick in Levy's step and was more than happy to help her friend out, so when Levy had escaped to the lockers for a moment Cana made her move.

"Yo! When are you gonna give my little lady a chance?"

Gajeel whirled around and nearly stumbled at the proximity of the tall, well-endowed woman now standing in front of him.

"Shorty doesn't have what it takes to keep up with me! Now if you're single!" He winked at her.

"Yeah, no. One, girls don't do that. And two, I'm not single. And don't you worry about Levy, she's more than capable of keeping up. Don't second guess her. Just watch and see."

She skated away while waving back at the black haired man. Levy had just returned and was gliding back out onto the ice to meet up with her.

"Alright Gajeel, quit gawking at her and focus. Let's do some more drills."

Gajeel took another long look at the blue-haired beauty and then focused his attention on the large man currently blocking the goal. As focused as he was, it wasn't enough and the drills were kicking his ass. Lily was getting frustrated with the man and told him to just pack it up and call it a night when Gajeel convinced him to do one more.

Shuffling the puck across the ice he lined himself up to take a shot when out of nowhere a streak of blue shot past him, stole the puck and was now taking off towards Lily and the net. Dumbfounded he stood there and watched as she made Lily's best defensive moves look like something an amateur would do, she smacked the puck and Gajeel watched, mouth agape, as the puck soared through the air and effortlessly hit the back of the net behind Lily.

Lily was just as shocked as Gajeel was. Levy on the other hand, turned around and flipped her hair back and smiled at the shell shocked man.

"So, how about that dinner?"

Gajeel was speechless. Composing himself enough to finally put together a coherent sentence he spoke to her.

"Where the hell did that come from?"

Levy laughed as she skated up closer to him, "I borrowed one of your extra sticks!"

"I am not talking about the hockey stick, Shorty."

Levy smiled, she had him right where she wanted him.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Gajeel. I'm not as "frilly" as you think me to be. I can keep up with you juuuuuuust fine." She said in a cocky tone of voice.

"Levy, that was amazing. Where did you learn that from?" Lily had now joined them near the center of the rink.

"My brother. He plays a little hockey." She shrugged, a little white lie wouldn't hurt.

"Yes." Gajeel stated simply.

Levy looked at him perplexed, "Huh?"

"Yes. Dinner."

Levy beamed. She had snagged the man and proved him wrong all at the same time. She hadn't been this satisfied with herself in a long time.

…

Levy was currently sitting in the passenger seat of Gajeel's truck. Even though it had initially been her to ask him out, he had insisted on letting him pick the place. She had agreed.

Cana had picked out her outfit for the night which consisted of tight, skinny legged jeans, to show off her glorious asset, paired with black boots and a deep orange loosely fitted sweater. Gajeel had told her he had no interest in fancy places and Levy had happily agreed so she opted for a nicer, casual approach.

She glanced over to look at Gajeel, he was also wearing dark colored jeans with boots and a dark green button up shirt that was now covered by his soft leather jacket. His long black hair was down, as usual, she sadly had not been blessed with his man bun since that first day she saw him. Damn he looked good. If things went well between them, she'd have to convince him to sport that more often.

Gajeel caught her staring and grinned at her.

"Like what ya see, Shorty?"

"I might." She smiled back and placed her hands in her lap as she turned and looked out the window.

"Why do people still have Christmas lights up? It's almost March!"

"Gihi! Maybe they got a head start?"

"It's so tacky! Ugh!"

Gajeel continued laughing as he pulled into the parking lot of the sports bar.

"Of course you'd take me to a sports bar."

"I told ya I don't do fancy! Plus, there's a game on tonight! I wanted to watch the Cyclones wipe the floor with the Rangers!"

"You're a Cyclones fan huh?"

Gajeel parked the truck and jumped out, Levy was reaching for the handle when he suddenly opened the door for her and offered his hand to help her down. She smiled at the gesture and placed her hand in his. Her small hand was dwarfed by his but he was no less gentle.

"I might not do fancy, but I can still be a gentleman! Shall we?"

"We shall!" She hooked her arm around his as the strolled to the entrance of the restaurant.

Once inside and after they were seated Levy asked her question once again.

"So the Cyclones huh?"

"Yeah. Well, I use to be a big fan of the Oak Town Phantoms, but… they kinda let me down." Levy picked up on the sadness in his voice.

"They were all over the news outlets two years ago but I never paid much attention to it. I bet you're a big fan of number 84?" She said to him pointing a fry in his direction.

Gajeel grabbed the fry and plopped it into his mouth with a big toothy grin.

"Well who wouldn't be? He's a beast of a centre! But don't get me wrong, he's not _all_ that. That's what I play, or use to play when I actually took it a little more serious."

"So you do actually play?" She reached over and stole a fry from his plate as payback.

"Here and there. Not too much anymore, just what Lil' and me get ourselves into. So tell me more about yourself, I know you skate, you somehow kick some major ass at hockey, which by the way you should really come meet my team and you have a brother."

Levy put her finger to the side of her chin as she thought of where to begin.

"Let's see, I am also a teacher. I work at Magnolia Girl's Academy as the fourth grade language arts instructor, I own my own home," she looked back at Gajeel, "the one you picked me up from. I skate, purely for fun, I have no desire to do it professionally, it's a hobby and I prefer keeping it that way. I have a brother as I mentioned, he lives in Crocus."

"Can he get me Cyclone's tickets?" Gajeel interrupted.

Levy went wide eyed and tried to think back if she had revealed her brother's profession.

"Ya know, since he lives there? In Crocus?"

"OH!" Levy gave a sigh of relief and relaxed her shoulders, "Yeah! I'll ask him! I think they have a home game next week, this week is your team's championship game, no?"

"That would be sick! Yeah, would you want to come?" He looked her in the eyes as he asked with a warm smile spread across his face.

"I'd love to!"

The night continued on and the two exchanged various stories and many laughs, but neither of them really telling their full history. When the last few people started clearing out after the brutal defeat of the Rangers they decided to end their night as well.

Gajeel pulled into the small driveway beside Levy's house and got out of the truck to walk over to her side and help her out. He hesitantly wrapped his arm around her waist as he walked her to the door and when she didn't rebut him he smiled and pulled her closer.

"I had a really good time tonight, Gajeel. Thank you for finally agreeing to go out with me."

Her smile was beautiful.

"Yeah, sorry about that by the way. I had a really good time too, I'll see you Friday?"

"Yeah! I'll leave from work and go to the high school."

He slowly relinquished his hold around her waist as she turned around to unlock her front door. She pushed the door opened and Gajeel noticed pause before going inside. Then all at once she turned around stepping high on her tippy toes and planted a chaste kiss on his cheek. With a smile on her face and a more than obvious blush present across her cheeks she turned back around and went inside shutting the door behind her.

Gajeel was feeling the heat on his own cheeks in spite of the chilly February night.


	3. Chapter 3

As with most weekends they take forever to arrive and pass all too quickly. It was Monday morning again and Levy was chugging back her coffee while laughing at a text sent to her by a certain raven haired history teacher.

_"You can't just spring a quiz on them because you're tired from the weekend!"_

_"Pretty sure that's the whole purpose of a pop quiz, Shorty."_

_"No, that's abusing your status as a teacher!"_

_"I have the degree that allows me to do so! If they wanna take revenge and give my future spawns a pop quiz bc they stayed out too late with a certain little woman, then they can go to college and get one too!"_

_"You're terrible, Gajeel lol"_

Levy laughed as she texted him goodbye and told him to have a good day, while also taking it easy on his students. He had only replied with a winking emoji, leaving Levy to shake her head and send a silent prayer to all his classes.

For being a Monday, the day hadn't seemed to drag by and Levy soon found herself dismissing her last class for the day. She gathered up her books stuffing them in her over-sized shoulder bag, grabbed her thermos and started the trek out to her car.

Across town Gajeel was also finishing his school day, the pop quiz had been a major success in his classes today, at least by his standards. Grabbing his duffle bag and closing his classroom door behind him he headed off towards the gymnasium that housed the school's ice rink.

"Alright, offense we're going to run a few drills on this half of the rink, defense will be with Lily working on the other side. Hustle!"

Practice went longer than normal, but with the championship game coming up on Friday Gajeel wanted them ready. When everyone was packing up the gear and Gajeel has dismissed them Lily walked up to the long haired man.

"Come have dinner with Shagotte and me tonight, or do you have plans?" He said with a wink.

"Nah, she had too much homework to grade or something, so I think I will join you guys!"

…

Lily and Shagotte's house was on the outskirts of the city in a neighborhood close to where Levy lived, so Gajeel had already mentally decided to drive the long way home and drive by her house when he left for the night.

Lily's home smelled like cinnamon and home cooked meals. Gajeel breathed in deep and kicked off his boots at the entry way.

"What'r ya making Shagotte? It sure smells good!"

Shagotte, Lily's wife was tall, but still shorter than the two men, she was fair skinned with long blonde hair and was very much pregnant. She was a kind woman but she still managed to keep Lily in line while also looking out for Gajeel.

Lily walked into the kitchen taking his wife into his arms and kissing her nose then kissing the bump currently hid under an apron.

"How are my two favorite girls?"

"We're good! Hello Gajeel, I'm happy to see you joining us tonight! You can't live off of ramen noodles and take out forever."

"It hasn't stopped me from trying. I can cook, it's just not any fun doing it for one person."

"Oh? But Lily told me you went on a date this past Saturday? Who is she?"

Gajeel laughed and shot a look at Lily who was conveniently ignoring the long haired man.

"Yeah, I did. Her name's Levy; she works at the girls' academy as their fourth grade language arts instructor. She's a figure skater."

"I was also told she, what were the words, kicked your ass at hockey?"

"Hey she got past you too, Lil'! Don't forget about that!"

Her bell like laugh filled the kitchen as she watched the two men in her life playfully banter with each other. Dodging a few punches she grabbed the main dish for tonight's dinner and walked over to the dining room table. After a few more displays of manliness passed between the two men Gajeel gathered up the dinnerware and carried it over to the table as Lily grabbed the rest of the food and followed behind him.

"Well from what you've said about her she sounds like a wonderful girl; you should invite her over sometime, I would love to meet her!"

As Lily helped clear away the dishes from the evening's meal Shagotte packed a few leftovers in various Tupperware containers for Gajeel to take home with him.

"Invite her to practice tomorrow, Gajeel!"

"Ya know, I think I will."

…

Levy had finished grading papers for the night and was currently curled up on the couch with a new book. Gajeel wouldn't be playing much hockey himself this week since the team's practices had been extended in preparation for the championship game and Cana was out of town with her boyfriend so Levy had decided to stay off the ice herself this week. She was just getting to the good part when her doorbell rang, grunting she stuck her bookmark in place and waddled to the door still wrapped up in her blanket.

She unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open a crack to peek through and see who would be visiting this late in the evening and smiled when she was greeted with the dark eyes and big toothy smile of her older brother.

"What are you doing here?"

"That's hardly a way to greet you brother, Nugget!"

Levy opened the door further and stepped back allowing him to walk inside as she turned and strolled back to the couch, allowing him to shut and lock the door back. As she was getting settled into a comfortable position once more she heard her phone ringing.

"Hey will you grab that for me, it's on the charger in the dining room."

"Who's Man-bun?"

Levy shot up from the couch and sprinted to the dining room grabbing her phone out of his hands before he was able to answer the call, putting a finger to her lips she told him to hush as she answered the call.

"Hello!"

_"Hey Shorty you got plans tomorrow after work?"_

"Hmm, nope. What's up?"

The smirk playing across her brother's face at the moment was not impressing her in the slightest and she attempted turn the volume down on the receiver but that only made him hover even closer to her ear.

_"Would ya want to come watch the team practice? I mean, ya don't have'ta if ya don't wanna but I figured it'd be nice to see ya since we won't be at the ice rink this week and maybe you could meet the guys before Friday?"_

Levy smiled as she listened to him ramble and pushed her brother's face away.

"I'd love to! I'll come straight there after work!"

_"Really!? Sweet! See ya tomorrow!"_

"See you tomorrow! Bye!"

Levy hung up the phone and set it back down on the table. Failing miserable at hiding her prominent blush she gave up and turned around to face her brother who was leaning against the couch with his arms crossed and sporting a devilish grin.

"Spill, Nugget."

"He's just a friend! That I may have gone on a date with over the weekend. He plays hockey at the ice rink where Cana and me go skating. Oh and he's the high school varsity hockey coach at Magnolia High and he's also a history teacher."

"Sounds like a decent enough guy. He plays hockey? Does he know who I am?"

"Yes. No. Kinda?" Levy tilted her head as her brother only moved his hands in a circular motion telling her to continue.

"He knows you are, but not your relation to me. I left that part out. He said he's a fan of you, but that you're not all that. So, maybe I have a chance!"

"So he's the coach then? I heard they're playing in the championship game this week, for once I have a Friday off, maybe I'll come and say hi! It's been a while since I've seen my old alma mater! Where are they playing?"

"At Magnolia. They have more room to accommodate the crowd they're expecting. You can come, but pretend you don't know me."

Levy's brother left late in the night, she had tried to talk him into staying and leaving early in the morning but he had declined the offer saying it was easier to just head back and be ready to go in the morning from his own place.

The next day went by far too slow for Levy's liking, she was excited to see Gajeel again, to see the team he was proud of and mostly just to see him in his element. So when the last bell rang she quickly dismissed her class, gathered her belongings and dashed to her car. It wasn't a long drive to Magnolia High but somehow she felt it took forever.

Finding Gajeel's truck in the parking lot she parked beside him, jumped out and skipped to the gymnasium.

"Levy!"

At hearing her name, she twirled around and saw Lily coming up behind her holding numerous bags in his hands.

"Lily! Here give me some of those, let me help!"

She gathered a few of the bags in her arms still leaving the bulk of them in Lily's but happy nonetheless she was able to provide some assistance. The two walked into the gymnasium and were greeted with the smell of freshly polished ice and sweat, Gajeel already had the team doing drills.

"Look who I found in the parking lot!" Lily announced as him and Levy walked up beside Gajeel.

"Hey Shorty! Nice to see you again." His smile could light up a room.

Levy smiled back at him and set the bags down on the bleachers in front of her, smoothing out her skirt and top.

"It's nice to see you again as well! So this is your team? They look really good!"

She continued watching the team run their drills as Gajeel stood watching her, after a few moments her expression had turned almost worried looking and she was biting her lip as he glanced back and forth between the players on the ice and the girl beside him he finally had to say something.

"You okay Shorty?"

She took a deep breath and spoke, "Number 24 he's going too wide, he's leaving himself too open and number 12 is too close for being on defense. He's going to end up getting tripped up if someone were to come in and steal the puck. Your goalie is also way too dependent on his butterfly moves, he's not bulky enough to do that alone, he has to be able to be quick and if he's in a butterfly stance he can't move quick enough."

Levy stopped talking when she realized Gajeel and Lily were merely staring at her with their mouths open.

"Where have you been all my life?" Gajeel hadn't mean to say that out loud.

Levy bit her lip again and looked away fearing she had said too much.

"She's right Gajeel. Bring 'em in and talk to them."

Gajeel called the team in for a quick water break and to talk to them about what Levy had observed. Various whispers could be heard as they approached and their eyes fixated on the small blue haired girl standing rather close to their coach.

"Who's the chick, coach?"

"Show some respect Jones!"

"Coach got a girlfriend! Bout time!"

Levy's face went red and she stared at the floor trying to decide if she should say something to correct the high school boy or not, but her decision was made for her when Gajeel spoke again.

"She ain't my girlfriend! Anyway, she's been observing you guys for a little while and she has something to tell a few of ya so listen up to the new Jr. Assistant Coach!"

"I feel that term has a double meaning, Gajeel." She glared back at the brooding man who only smiled down at her.

Levy discussed her observations with the team who in turn were rather shocked to hear so much knowledge coming from someone of her likeness. She shared tips and tricks with them that her brother and shared with her and even a few moves on the ice she found useful during her own routines, being careful not to share the fact they were actually figure skating moves.

After practice each team member gave her a high five and invited her back to future practices. They were elated to hear she would be attending the game on Friday and when one of them yelled out to their coach to hurry up and seal the deal they were quickly dismissed and she soon found herself being walked out to her car by the grumpy coach himself.

"Well, I guess you passed the test. They like ya!"

"That makes me happy!"

"Is that Levy McGarden I see or are my old eyes playing tricks on me?"

Levy turned around to see who had said her name as Gajeel came up beside her, when her eyes focused on the small old man she smiled.

"Mr. Dreyer! Oh it's been years!"

The two shared a quick hug as Levy stepped back in place beside Gajeel who instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist. He knew the old man's obsession with pretty women and girlfriend or not, he wasn't prone to sharing.

"Gajeel, I was unaware you were dating dear Levy. You had better be taking good care of her! I've known her family for years. Which reminds me, how's your brother?"

Levy felt Gajeel's arm drawing her closer and stifled back a giggle at his jealous demeanor.

"He's good! Very busy nowadays, he stopped by last night but he didn't stay long. He mentioned trying to come watch the game Friday."

"Well that would be exciting if he were to come, he did get his start here of course. What does your brother think of Gajeel?"

"They've not met yet."

Makarov gave a knowing nod and didn't press any further, but Levy couldn't help but notice Gajeel's more than confused expression. She wasn't ready to tell him about her brother yet.

"Well, I really should be going. It was so nice seeing you again! Gajeel, you be good to her!" The old man seemed to grow as he pointed a finger in Gajeel's face as Levy covered her mouth to quiet her laughing.

"Yes sir."

When Makarov had walked away Gajeel realized he was still holding Levy's waist and quickly dropped his arm, not noticing the disappointed sigh that came from the woman standing beside him.

"Tomorrow after practice, would you want to come over to my place? For dinner I mean!" Levy stuttered.

"I'd like that, a lot. So your brother was over last night? That must be whose car I saw in your driveway."

When Gajeel realized how stalker like he sounded he quickly redeemed himself.

"Lily lives near your house! I was at his place last night and drove by, I was not stalking you!"

Levy laughed and covered her mouth once again, when she composed herself she gave a sly smile and tilted her head up towards the much taller man.

"Is that so? I'll see you tomorrow Gajeel." She quickly gave him another chaste kiss, this time at the corner of his mouth and stepped into her car, giving an innocent wave before driving away.

"That woman."


	4. Chapter 4

Levy stared in disbelief at the broken oven. She wound her leg back in order to give it a good kick when a strong arm wrapped around her waist pulling her backwards.

"Whoa now, shorty! No need to get violent!" He glanced up at the clock mounted on the kitchen wall and grinned, "I know just the place we can go. C'mon, grab your coat!"

Helping Levy into his truck, he shut her door and walked around to the driver side. He made getting into the beast of a vehicle look easy. Levy had decided this with an unimpressed expression.

The blue haired girl sighed in defeat at the night's occurrences.

"I'm so sorry Gajeel. I wanted to make you dinner and this whole night has just...stunk! Ugh! Now we have to go out and I was so set on making you a home cooked meal," she pouted.

Staring out the window Levy quickly noticed they weren't heading in the direction of the city but rather staying close to her neighborhood. A thin layer of snow barely covered the ground and would most likely be gone in a few hours.

A peculiar laughter coming from the driver's side of the truck diverted her attention back to inside of the cab. She couldn't help but smile at his odd way of laughing and she would never tell him this but she also found it rather cute.

"Oi, I never said we were going out. We'll still get a home cooked meal. It just won't be from you! Gihi! Tell ya what, I'll fix yer oven for ya and then we can give this night another shot later. How's that sound?"

"You'd do that for me?"

"'Course I would!"

Stopping at a stop sign, he reached over and grabbed her delicate hand, taking it into his and lacing their fingers together. Smiling, she unclipped her seatbelt and scooted to the middle of the truck's bench-seat, fastening the new seatbelt in place as she rested her head against his shoulder.

Gajeel fought the urge to kiss the top of her head and instead, awkwardly itched his nose while trying to hide his heated cheeks.

"So where are we going?"

"You'll see," her hand fit perfectly with his, he noticed, and his heart all but leapt out of his chest at her close proximity. He could smell her strawberry shampoo and it took all he had not to pull the truck over and bury his face in her hair and neck, just to inhale every aspect of her scent, ingrain it into his senses, but instead he pushed the gas pedal just a little closer to the floorboard to give him that extra bit of distraction from the beautiful woman currently leaning against his shoulder.

The ten-minute drive was made in comfortable silence and when Gajeel pulled into the driveway of a two-story brick home, Levy glanced around.

"This place is beautiful! Wait, is this _your_ house Gajeel?"

"Gihi! Nah shorty, this place ain't mine! I live in the city."

Levy's eyes danced around the property, the landscaping was immaculate and she could only begin to imagine the beauty it held in the springtime.

"Then who lives here?"

A devilish smirk crept across his face, "I told ya you'll see! Come on!"

Not daring to let go of her hand, he pulled her along and helped her out the driver's side of the truck. Smiling, he gave a light squeeze to her hand as they walked up the stone sidewalk leading to the large mahogany door.

Reaching over Levy's head, he rang the doorbell.

"Shit! Hold up shorty, forgot something in the truck!"

"Gajeel, don't you dare leave me!"

But her words were spoken to the air as her not-boyfriend of a man dashed back towards the truck.

The sound of the door unlocking alerted Levy and she turned to see it open to reveal a tall, slender, yet pregnant woman with long, light blonde hair.

"Oh, hello. Is there something I can do for you?"

Levy swallowed and glanced towards Gajeel who was still in the cab of the truck.

"Um, my name is Levy. My...friend brought me here. He's getting something out of his truck right now."

"Levy?"

A familiar deep voice came from inside the home and the blonde woman stepped aside as the door opened further. Levy's shoulders relaxed and she smiled as she looked up at the large dark skinned man.

"Oh. This is your house, Lily?"

"Sure is! Where's Gajeel?"

Lily stepped out onto the front porch as the blonde woman turned to go back inside. Levy pointed towards the truck just as Gajeel shut the door and was now walking back up the sidewalk with a brown bag in hand.

"Hey Lil'! I brought a visitor with me!"

Gajeel wrapped his arm around her waist as she shot him an unimpressed look.

"You left me."

"It's just Lily! And his wife."

"You still left me." She was relieved the home belonged to Lily, but the fact he had left her still put her off.

Lily laughed as he stepped forward and draped an arm around the significantly shorter bluenette girl's shoulder and escorted her inside and away from the confused man who was still trying to figure out why Levy seemed upset with him.

The inside of the house was warm and bright. The painted hallway leading to the kitchen was a soft green and contained a large, glass vase filled with beautiful, vibrantly red long stem roses. Lily stepped into the kitchen, arm still around Levy's shoulders as he gestured towards his wife.

"Levy, this is my beautiful wife, Shagotte. Shagotte, my love, this little one here is the infamous Levy!"

Stepping forward and shooing her husband away, Shagotte took Levy's hands in both of hers and beamed.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, my dear! I've heard so much about you. Anyone who can put up with that grump," she glanced towards Gajeel who grunted in reply, "has got to be a remarkable woman. I look forward to getting to know you better."

Levy smiled back and soon found herself drawn into a warm embrace as Shagotte hugged her. Being as far along as she was, Levy was a little apprehensive about how to return the friendly gesture. She knew it was impossible to squeeze the baby out from a hug, but the thought still lingered. The height difference between her and the modelesque woman also posed a bit of difficulty, so Levy did the best she could before the woman released her and fluttered back in the direction of the oven

Gajeel moved past Levy to set the brown bag on the counter, "Here's the containers I borrowed. Thanks again!"

Taking the containers out of the bag Shagotte grinned as she took in the lack of leftover food particles, "Gajeel Redfox, did you actually wash these this time around?"

"I finally found that dishwasher the lease paperwork said my apartment came with!" He replied with a big toothy grin.

Shagotte gave a half smile and shook her head as she put them away before calling to the others, "Sit down you guys, dinner's ready!"

Gajeel grabbed two extra sets of dinnerware from the cabinet and joined Levy at the table as Lily brought over dinner.

The table in the dining room was no less than impressive; Levy still couldn't believe this was where Lily lived and had it been anyone else, she would have felt uncomfortable. But the company she kept tonight was anything less than the warm, welcoming feeling of family. It made her nostalgic for when she had lived at home and shared dinners with her parents and her brother. Her brother had always managed to make dinner a lively time, it was never a quiet affair in their home at suppertime. She looked forward to the day she could introduce her brother to her new group of friends and love interest.

Shagotte had prepared a magnificent potroast. The meat and vegetables melted in Levy's mouth and tickled her taste buds. She hadn't had a home cooked meal like this in a long time and she normally wasn't the kind of girl to go for seconds so early on in a relationship but she quickly tossed that to the wind once she realized the men were going for thirds and Shagotte had chided them for not leaving any left for Levy.

After dinner was finished, Gajeel had insisted they let him take care of cleaning up since he had crashed their supper. As he washed the dishes Levy would dry them and in no time at all, they had finished.

"Where's the bathroom?" Levy asked after she had put the last of the clean dishes in the dryer rack.

"Down the hall, first down on the left, Hun!"

Levy strolled off in the direction Shagotte had pointed and when Shagotte was sure she was out of earshot, she playfully punched Gajeel on the arm.

"Got yourself a cute little thing! And that booty of hers!" The round woman winked at the two men standing in the kitchen.

"That's what I told Lily! But he gave me this mumbo-jumbo about him being a married man and he doesn't look at another chick's ass."

"That's called being a gentleman!" Lily defended.

"Lily my dear, you've gotta take the time to appreciate the good things, and that girl's backside is a _good_ thing! I could only dream of being that blessed." Shagotte pouted as she attempted to admire her own behind in the reflection of the stainless steel fridge door.

"This is a double edged sword. I would get in trouble if I had made a comment and now I'm getting in trouble for not making a comment. I can't win for losing!"

Lily stomped away into the living room, leaving Gajeel and Shagotte laughing in the kitchen at the flustered man. When Levy rejoined the group, they were on their best behavior, leaving her none the wiser.

As the evening drew to a close, Levy and Gajeel said their goodbyes and headed back to Levy's house. Pulling into Levy's driveway Gajeel hopped out of the truck and rushed over to Levy's side to help her down, wrapping an arm around her waist, he escorted her to her front door and only released her once she started digging in her purse for her house keys.

"I had a really good time. Lily's wife is wonderful!"

"She's something else, that's for sure. I'm glad ya had a good time."

Levy smiled up at Gajeel after unlocking her door, "Do you...want to come in?"

"Nah, I gotta get going. I still need to grade those pop quizzes. Gihi!"

Levy shook her head. She thanked him once more for the evening as she turned around to push her door open and go inside. She couldn't help but feel a bit of disappointment at the abrupt ending to her night.

"Levy."

Spinning around to face him, Gajeel placed his hand against her cheek, gently stroking her skin with his thumb. Levy blushed and her lips turned upward at the gesture. Leaning into his palm she brought her own hand up to place atop his and closed her eyes.

Slowly and hesitantly, Gajeel moved closer. Levy could feel the heat from his breath dusting across her lips. She willed the man to come closer, clearing the distance between them once and for all and when she grew too impatient, she moved to meet him.

The kiss was light, but as they grew bolder, so did the heat. Levy had wound her arms around his neck pulling him to her; the hand that once rested on her cheek was now snuggly at her neck while the other tightened around her waist.

Their lips danced against each other, moving to a rhythm that only they could feel. The wind changed and an unfortunate chill split the two apart despite the heat they had previously been sharing.

Gajeel rested his forehead against Levy's as his hands traced the outline of her slender figure drawing her loosely open coat closer around her core.

"Goodnight, Levy," He breathed.

Warm hazel eyes fluttered open to meet with even warmer crimson orbs. Their smiles mirrored each other and a nervous giggle escaped from the young woman's lips.

"Goodnight, Gajeel."

With another impromptu peck, they separated and she stepped inside her home slowly closing the door behind her.

Now safely behind the door, she traced her lips with a dainty fingertip as the heat radiating from her cheeks intensified. She let out a breath she hadn't even been aware she was holding. Her entire body shook with giddiness and delight as she skipped off towards her bedroom.

…

"Cana, he is an amazing kisser! Hurry up and come home already! You guys have been gone long enough!"

Levy flitted around Cana's apartment as she doted on the kiss she had shared with Gajeel the night before. Cana had left Levy in charge of taking care of her fish while her and her boyfriend, Bacchus, were on vacation for their anniversary. Cana wasn't always big into pets but for some strange reason she loved her fish like someone would love their own child. Sir Daniels – named for her love of Jack Daniels – was one of those big googley eye black goldfish and his tank was just as fancy as her luxury apartment.

" _We'll be back Sunday! How's my fish?"_

"I'm in your apartment right now; I just finished cleaning the tank and gave him some food. I also watered the flowers you had sitting in your kitchen."

" _I forgot I had those, thanks! Anyway, I gotta go, but do some more with that boy toy you have and give me a story worth listening to when I get back! Love you!"_

"Love you too Cana, see you soon!"

Levy hung up her cell phone and stuck the device in her back pocket. Looking around to see if there was anything else needed to do inside the apartment, she decided it was time to head back home.

"Are you finished taste testing all of her booze yet? I can't drive your fancy car so you better not have drunk too much."

Levy addressed her brother with her hands on her hips.

"Nugget, you worry too much. I'm fine. Plus, her shit isn't all that great. Her boyfriend's stash is pretty good, though!"

Levy rolled her eyes and walked towards the door. She realized she left the keys laying on the counter and she sent her brother back to get them as she opened the front door, waiting for him in the hallway. He turned to lock the door before walking away towards the elevators.

Her brother had pulled his hood up in order to hide himself. He didn't want to be seen. Levy had apologized and told him he could have waited in the car while she went in, but he had insisted on going inside with her. When they reached his overly fancy car – as Levy often described it – he opened her passenger door, closing it as she seated herself inside.

"Ya know, this is the most I've ever seen you in a single week before."

Quirking an eyebrow towards Levy, her brother fastened his seatbelt and played off the best disappointed sigh he could manage.

"Are you telling me you want me to leave, Nugget?"

Eyes wide Levy waved her arms in the air dismissing his thoughts, "No! I miss you, you know that! I've loved getting to see you more often!"

Her brother laughed as he shook his head, assuring her he had only been teasing. Laughing again at her puffed cheeks, he reached out and ruffled her hair.

…

Gajeel pushed the button for the elevator. It was still quite a few floors away from returning to the ground floor so while he waited, he checked his mail box that was conveniently located in a room across from the main elevators: bill, bill, junk mail, a card, credit card statement, and more junk mail. The ding of the elevator doors chimed and his head turned towards a familiar shade of blue.

" _What's Levy doing here? Does she know I live here?"_ He thought to himself.

He decided to hang back and not long after she stepped out of the elevator, a taller man stepped out behind her and draped his arm over her shoulders. The man was hidden beneath his hood, but Gajeel could recognize him anywhere: the famous Crocus Cyclones Centre, better known as Fizz.

_What the hell is Fizz doing with shorty? What the hell is shorty doing with Fizz?!_

Gajeel's jealousy flared; he didn't own Levy by any means, but was she seriously just a puck bunny? Had she met up with him here and was now leaving with the man? His knuckles turned white where his fists clenched at his side. He slammed his mailbox shut as he stalked back out to the foyer. He peeked out the glass doors, watching her as the man she left with opened the car door for her.

Fishing his cell phone out of his pocket, he sent a quick text to the girl in question and marched up the 12 flights of stairs to his apartment; he was in no mood to wait on the elevator.

" _What are you up to? Practice ended early today. Figured I'd give the team a break, they're pretty pumped up for tomorrow!"_

A few minutes went by and just as he was approaching the 8th floor, his phone went off.

" _Aren't you such a nice coach! I just left Cana's, had to take care of her fish."_

" _I try lol still coming tomorrow?"_

Finally, he made it to the 12th floor where his apartment was located. He stuck the key in the door and stepped inside, throwing his bag in the corner and crashing on the couch.

" _Of course! I wouldn't miss it for anything!"_

Frustrated, he tossed his phone to the coffee table and huffed. He didn't think Levy was the type of girl to just meet up with a guy, a famous guy at that, a rich and famous guy who played hockey. He jumped up from the couch and walked into his spare bedroom, which he had appropriately turned into a gym of sorts and decided to take his frustration out on the punching bag.


	5. Chapter 5

Gajeel paced back and forth with his arms crossed and a scowl across his face. His thoughts were everywhere: the upcoming game, his team, Levy, the man he had seen Levy with the night before, whether or not she was actually going to show up and if she did, whether or not he would be able to keep himself from asking about her previous night's activities.

He knew better. It was none of his business since they weren't official, yet. He wanted to make things official, but maybe she knew about his past and she really was more interested in occupying a player's bed at night versus forming an actual relationship, they had coined these type of women puck bunnies.

"Uh, Coach Lily, is he alright? He's making us all pretty nervous."

Lily shook his head and sighed at their head coach.

"Yeah, he's fine. He'll be fine. Why don't you guys just chill for a bit? No need to tire yourselves out before the game." He clapped the team captain on the back and sent him back out on the ice to his teammates.

Lily started to march over to where the pierced man was pacing back and forth. He knew the man was worrying more than he needed to and even though he knew deep down the attempt would be mostly in vain, he still had to try to lend a few supporting words.

A rush of cold air followed by the sound of the large gymnasium doors shutting diverted Lily's attention elsewhere. His eyes grew and a sigh of relief escaped his lips as he noticed the bouncing ponytail of blue hair making its way through the crowd of growing spectators. Detouring his original route towards Gajeel, he shifted and headed towards where Levy was trying to push her way forward.

"Lily! Hi!" Levy waved in excitement at seeing the large man.

Reaching his arm out to gently grab hold of her, Lily pulled her through the crowd and directed her in the direction of an extremely anxious Gajeel.

On his umpteenth turn around to trace back along his withered path, Gajeel finally noticed the smiling woman walking towards him. His heart sped up and his palms started sweating; he was nervous, excited, anxious, and felt a variety of other emotions wash over him. He still hadn't dealt with his jealousy over seeing her with his past idol the previous night and this wasn't the most ideal time to ask her about it at the moment.

"Gajeel, you look rough. What's up?"

The concern in her voice pierced his heart and all anger and animosity he once had drained from his body and relaxed his shoulders.

"Levy, I need you to take his ass out of here for a while so I can do some damage control on the team. He has them so wound up, I'm afraid they're going to spontaneously combust. He's even driving me nuts!" Lily leaned down and whispered in her ear, "There's a bar about two blocks from here. Go get him a drink, buy a pack of gum and make him chew it, bring him back here and he should be good to go."

"I'm not that bad, Lil'." He replied rolling his eyes, "Come on shorty, there's a grocery store around the corner from here. I'll just get some Redbulls."

"Oh, those are much better." Lily's blatant sarcasm had Levy giggling and turning into Gajeel's arms as he wrapped it around her shoulders, leading them out of the gymnasium.

Levy pointed towards her car and walked around to the driver's side leaving Gajeel standing beside himself with a dumbstruck look across his face.

"How's about you drive my truck?"

Levy turned her head towards the large truck parked near the gymnasium then turned back to Gajeel, her face plastered with a confused expression.

"What? You're crazy. I can't reach the pedals in that thing!

"Well I can't fit in this thing!" His arms waved madly gesturing at the small car and his larger physique.

Narrowing her eyes in feigned irritation at his unfound fear of tight spaces, she replied, "You'll manage. Get in."

She sat down in her seat and turned the ignition as he opened the door and began attempting to stuff himself inside.

"Ya know, I have some hockey sticks in my truck that could help with your pedal reaching problem."

"Gajeel Redfox, get in the damn car."

Grunting in reply, he miraculously squeezed himself inside and shut the door. Levy couldn't help the small giggle that escaped her lips as she watched him wrangle the seatbelt and the look he shot her didn't help much either.

"Oh hello knees, it's not that nice to see you."

"Drama Queen. Where's this grocery store?"

"Turn right out of here and right again at the light. It's up the road on the left."

Levy steered the vehicle in the direction of the store listening to the occasional uncomfortable grunts from the man beside her.

"So, what did you do last night?"

It was a simple enough question; he was still morbidly curious as to what she had been doing when he had seen her at his apartment complex with The Fizz. His blood boiled at the thought.

"I was downtown taking care of Cana's fish. Real exciting, huh?"

"She lives downtown?"

Levy nodded her head, "At the Hyde Park Tower."

Gajeel cocked a studded brow in her direction, "The hell? She lives at Hyde Park?"

"Her father is loaded, crazy loaded, and they recently reconnected and he doesn't know the proper way to show his affection except to drown her in his money. He pays the rent. Her boyfriend is pretty well off too, but I have no idea what he does for a living."

Gajeel had been living at the tower for a good two or three years and he couldn't recall ever running into her busty brunette friend, but at this moment he was glad they hadn't come across each other. Levy was still in the dark about where he lived and he wasn't about to try and come up with an explanation as to how he afforded the luxury apartment with a high school teacher's salary. But that still didn't explain why she was in the company of _him_ and he pressed further.

"Never would have thought. That area gets pretty rough at night, you weren't alone were you?"

"A place surrounded by its own security personnel and across the street from a police station? You're cute Gajeel."

She gave him a wink and said nothing further as she parked the car. He hadn't realized they were already at the store. Faster than Levy thought was humanly possible, he unclipped his seatbelt and bolted from the car, stretching his limbs while mumbling about tight spaces.

Gajeel had forgot how short the drive was to the store, even with someone following the proper laws put in place and not driving like the mad man he usually was. It hadn't been the most opportune time to bring up last night and now realizing he lost his chance to continue the conversation, he inwardly cursed himself at his poor choice in timing.

"Drama Queen." Levy said giggling.

Gajeel rolled his eyes as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her towards the sliding door of the store. Making their way back to the drink refrigerators, Gajeel opened one and grabbed himself two Redbulls. Levy was reaching out to grab herself a strawberry flavored water at the next spot down as he also grabbed a kiwi flavored drink.

Meeting Levy's confused look, he shrugged, "It's for Lily."

She smiled and shut the door before they made their way up to the checkout. Finding their place in line, Levy glanced over the gossip magazines, her eyes lingering on a cover featuring her brother and a possible new love interest. Inwardly, she rolled her eyes and moved on to the next cover page.

"I wonder if she left any for someone else who might come in wanting to buy some."

Levy glanced back at Gajeel with confusion spread across her face as he pointed her towards the woman ahead of them in line.

"Oi! That's a lot of peaches, what the hell does someone do with that many peaches?"

Levy shot Gajeel a warning glare and turned back to the woman who was now smiling and stifling a laugh.

"I guess I do have quite a lot, huh? Oh! But I also have milk!"

"She also has milk, Gajeel. See?"

"Always out of milk." Gajeel deadpanned.

"You too? Hey, you look really familiar, Magnolia girl's academy?" The woman questioned.

"Yeah, I'm the fourth grade language arts teacher."

"I thought so, I've helped out with a few bake sales there for fundraisers, and I knew I had seen you before."

"You bake?"

"I do! I plan on freezing most of these," she gestured towards her cart full of peaches, "but I also plan on making some cobblers, pies, and whatever else I can come up with! I have a massive sweet tooth and peaches are my favorite, so why not combine the two?"

"Oh that sounds so good! Peach cake would be divine." Levy's mouth practically watered imagining the confectionery treat.

Gajeel dropped his hand in the blue tresses of the short woman in front of him, ruffling them as he laughed, "You should make me a cake."

Levy puffed her cheeks and stomped her foot. The woman in front of them bent over in laughter and wiping a tear from her gray-blue eye, she barely managed to get out her reply towards the overly cute interaction.

"You two make such an adorable couple! You guys must really love each other!"

Levy's face turned red for a very different reason at hearing this and before she was able to rebut her comment about their relationship, Gajeel spoke first.

" _Something_ like that, I guess."

The blush on her cheeks intensified and though she wanted to see his expression, she felt herself frozen in place and only able to take in the knowing smirk on the woman in front of her as she moved forward to take her place at the checkout counter.

"Here, I jotted down my number for you, gimmie a call sometime. I'd love to hang out, I can help you bake that cake." She said with a wink as she skipped away.

"Did my woman just get a number in the line at the grocery store?"

Levy bit her bottom lip, "I guess I did, and I had to work for yours! That hardly seems fair."

"Did you even get her name?"

Levy's mouth dropped open, "No! Oh no! Well, I'll just store her name as Peach for now, I guess?"

Levy pouted and Gajeel took the chance to grab the bottle of Lifewater from her hand and move in front of her to pay for the drinks. He laughed at her sad expression before ruffling her again and walking back towards her small car of doom, Levy shuffling behind him.

…

Walking back into the gymnasium, the un-couple quickly noticed the large crowd gathered near the ice. Both teams and spectators alike were snapping pictures and waving pens and paper in the same general direction.

"The hell's going on?" Gajeel questioned.

Levy knew. She knew it could only be her brother amongst the large crowd, he had texted her while they were at the store that he was on his way to the school. Shrugging her shoulders, she walked in the opposite direction of the crowd to where Lily was standing admiring the flood of people from afar.

"Oi Lil! Got ya somethin'!" Gajeel tossed him the kiwi flavored drink. Lily replied with a grateful smile before twisting off the cap and taking a long drag.

"What's goin' on over there?" Gajeel nodded his head in the direction of the craziness on the opposite end of the rink.

"Ah, it seems The Fizz showed up. They all went nuts."

Gajeel's eyes narrowed and then shot towards Levy, who was currently typing on her phone before shoving the metal device in her back pocket, eyeing the growing crowd. She didn't linger long before turning around to stand beside Gajeel and taking a drink from the pink bottle.

"Yer a fan aren't ya? Wanna go meet 'im?"

Levy nearly choked on her drink. Swallowing it down quickly, she shook her head, "Oh no, I'm not interested. Plus, he's probably here more for the teams, not the random fans. How long till the game starts?"

Gajeel glanced back over to the crowd and when his eyes met the man at the center, he glared. The smirk he was greeted with had him seething, but the nonchalant attitude of the girl in front of him had him even more angry. He was determined to find out what was going on between the two of them. He liked Levy. He liked her a lot and he wasn't against fighting for her, even if it was the man who use to be his idol, who also ended up basically ruining his life.

A warning buzzer went off and the teams dispersed back onto the ice after a few high fives from the celebrity hockey player. Levy took a seat on the row of bleachers behind the team's bench. Her brother was a few rows up from her and she knew this because he kept sending her snapchats; she refused to turn around. The only person currently in attendance who knew of their relationship was Makarov and she intended to keep it that way.

The game began a short while later and Levy got even more excited when Gajeel was getting so into it. He pulled his hair back into the man bun that had captured her heart when she first met him.

She was elated to see the boys using some of the techniques she had taught them and was even happier to see them working to their advantage. The first goal was unfortunately scored by the opposing team just before the end of the first frame.

The first break was spent with Gajeel keeping the team motivated. There were still two frames left and they'd only scored one goal; they could and would turn this around and come out on top and go to state!

The buzzer sounded and the teams took to the ice again. Gajeel's pep talk must have done some good because five minutes in they had managed a breakaway and scored a goal. The game was tied 1-1 going into the third and last frame with Magnolia having the powerplay advantage. Gajeel was on edge and those Redbulls were clearly not the best of choice. His temper was flaring as he shouted to the boys on the ice to pay attention and run the right play. Levy couldn't lie, it was thrilling seeing him like this. It made her heart race to see him so passionate. Even Lily was getting into it and she now had her answer as to why Shagotte never came to the games. He'd send her into early labor, no question about it.

During this time, they scored another goal and sealed their win for regionals just as the buzzer ended the game. Gajeel rushed the ice to celebrate with his team as they held their blades high in the air and cheered loudly. Levy stood with the spectators in the bleachers clapping and cheering and when Gajeel finally came back to her, he picked her up and swung her around in pure bliss.

"Congratulations, coach! I'm so proud of you!"

"We're gonna go celebrate, you wanna come?" He set her back on the ground, but kept his hands on her hips.

"I'll pass, you go and have a good time with your team! You guys deserve it. I'll call you tomorrow, how's that sound?"

"Ya sure?" Levy shook her head and Gajeel smiled before leaning down to kiss her cheek, "Thanks for coming shorty, I'm pumped. So pumped! We're going to State! I'll catch up with you tomorrow, be careful going home."

He had momentarily forgot about the extra company that had graced the teams with his appearance and upon catching his glance through the crowd, he noticed the smirk in his direction. Before he had the chance to react, his team's captain had ceremoniously dumped the remaining liquid contents from the cooler over his head with the help from Lily essentially pushing his mind far away from the man at the opposite end of the rink.

Laughing, Levy gave another congratulation to the team and waved goodbye as she flung her purse over her shoulder and walked out to her car.

…

Gajeel dropped Lily off at his house, both of them still on their victory high. Saying a quick goodnight to Lily and Shagotte, Gajeel jumped back in his truck and pulled out of the driveway. He hadn't even realized he was heading in the direction of Levy's house until he turned the corner and saw her drive come into view with a very familiar fancy looking car.

The high he had been feeling quickly dissipated and before he knew, it he had pulled in behind the stupidly gaudy two-seater and was knocking on her door. He heard movement on the other side and the deadbolt unlocked. He took a small step back and waited for the door to open.

"Gajeel? What are you doing here?"

Gajeel was momentarily stunned as a pajama clad Levy answered the door, her lounge shorts hugged her legs perfectly and he couldn't help but wonder how she looked from behind. Her baggy t-shirt hung slightly off her shoulder, reeling back in his thoughts he attempted to look beyond her into her home.

"I dropped Lily off and just ended up coming here. Is this a bad time?"

"Um, well it kind of is. I have company." She replied shyly, not meeting his eyes.

"Who's here?" His voice came through more stern that he had intended.

His question was answered as a hand came forward to rest on Levy's shoulder and another opened the door further, Levy hugged herself as she stared at the floor. Red eyes met with brown; both men sporting stoic faces.

"What the hell is he doing here, Levy?"


	6. Chapter 6

Levy opened her mouth to talk, but before she could, the grip on her shoulder tightened and her brother spoke instead.

"Last I checked she didn't belong to anyone, so she doesn't need to explain anything to you, Redfox."

Levy's eyes widened and she moved to stare back at her older brother, "You know him?" She turned her head back towards Gajeel who had narrowed his eyes, "Gajeel, do you know each other?"

"Sure, he knows who I am. But my guess is he hasn't quite told you all about himself, has he?"

Pushing past Levy standing in the doorway, Gajeel came eye to eye with the hockey player.

"Why are you in her house?" Moving his eyes to Levy, he spoke to her.

A million thoughts ran through his head as to why the man was standing inside her home and currently not wearing a shirt. Pissed off was an understatement. He didn't think Levy was this kind of girl, but clearly things were not presenting themselves in a fair light. A single question pushed itself forward and before he was able to control himself, he all but shouted it at the shocked woman beside him.

"Shorty you're not sleep−"

Before the statement was able to leave his lips, Levy's brother interrupted him, "I have a fiancé."

Levy's own thoughts finally caught up with her, and upon realizing what Gajeel was insinuating, she threw her hands in the air and shouted back at him. Her stomach knotted, looking around she knew the situation didn't look exactly pleasant and the last thing she wanted was for Gajeel to think she was a sleaze.

"What? No, hell no!" She whipped around to face her brother, "Would you shut up with that fiancé mumbo jumbo! Gajeel, you've got the wrong idea!"

"Then someone better tell me what the hell is goin' on here! Why is this asshole in my girl's home?!"

"Your girl? I don't recall ever giving you permission to date my one and only little sister. I happen to be rather protective of her."

Gajeel's mouth hit the floor, "Sister? He's your brother?" He looked questioningly at Levy.

Levy swallowed and nodded her head, "Yeah. I decided this time around, I wouldn't mention him and see how things went. Guys tend to use me once they find out and I really liked you and even though I swore off hockey players, I figured a high school hockey coach wouldn't be too bad. It's not like I was keeping him from you, I was only trying to get to know you more before I dropped that bombshell."

"Nugget, you landed yourself an ex-NHL player."

Now it was Levy's turn to sport the shock and surprise look. Only this time she was mad. Spitting mad.

"You never told me you were an ex-hockey player, Gajeel!"

"You never told me your brother was Jellal Fernandes!"

Levy puffed her cheeks and stomped away. A few moments later, the sound of a door slamming echoed through the house.

"She's pissed. Good job, Redfox." Jellal stepped forward and clapped Gajeel on the back. "I knew it was you she was dating, but I never said anything. I figured it out the night I saw you stalking us at your apartment complex. I figured you thought she was a puck bunny and I may have played a little dirty to make you jealous, but I'm not going to apologize."

"It's not like you to apologize anyway. Fuck, man, you're always the one involved when my life goes to shit. Why is it always you?"

"You're welcome. Anyway, I'll bow out." Jellal threw his hands up in a defensive manner and continued, "Nugget really likes you. She doesn't shut the hell up about you to be honest, so consider this my blessing. Go get her."

"Brother." The word tasted sour on his tongue.

"Yep, she has our mother's maiden name. Things got pretty rough with the more publicity I got, so I helped her change her name in order for her to live a normal life and not deal with the press on a daily basis."

Gajeel was acting like a kid who had lost his puppy Jellal decided quietly to himself. It wasn't hard to notice the glances towards where Levy had escaped and knowing their conversation wasn't going to get anywhere he was getting rather annoyed at the pitiful display going on before him.

"Quit dawdling and go make up with her, I really don't feel like dealing with a depressed Levy. There's not enough ice cream or wine in this house."

He walked away towards the living room, leaving Gajeel standing just inside the entryway. With a deep breath, he cleared his head and strolled off in the direction of Levy's bedroom. Pausing just outside the door he could hear the faint sound of sobs coming from inside. He slowly raised his hand and tapped a knuckle to the door.

"Levy? I'm coming in."

Turning the doorknob, he gently pushed the door open and stepped inside, quietly shutting it behind him. Levy was sitting crossed legged on her much too big of a bed clutching a pillow to her chest as tears spilled down her face. Eyes darting about the room Gajeel hadn't expected for Levy's room to be so girly, especially for someone in their mid twenties. The rest of her house had a more modern feel to it, but within the walls of the master bedroom left no question as to the clear femininity Levy had. Orange was clearly the woman's favorite color and the bright orange rag carpet in the middle of the room only enhanced this fact. One thing that did not surprise Gajeel was the sheer amount of books, one entire wall was bookshelves filled with scripted hardbacks and paperbacks, even more of them blanketed the floors.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She sniffled.

"Probably for the same reason you never told me Fernandes was your brother - to protect myself."

Slowly, he made his way to the bed with the brightly colored blankets strewn across it and sat down on its edge. Turning his body inward to face Levy, he gently ran a finger under each of her eyes wiping away the tear smudges.

"I saw you two the other night at Hyde Park, I live there. I never told you because I wasn't sure how to think up an excuse as to how I could afford a place like that being a high school teacher, and I didn't want to lie, so I just never told ya where I lived. I thought the worst when I saw the two of ya leavin' and I'm sorry. It's been weighing on me for a while now and I really was on my way back from Lily's house and before I knew it, I was on your road and passing your house and I saw his car. I jumped to conclusions again and, well, here we are."

Gajeel stared at the floor, unsure of whether or not he wanted to see the expression on the woman's face beside him after his confession. What he wasn't prepared for was the small hand that was clutching his and the quick intake of breath he heard come from her direction.

"In the past, I would mention my brother and that's all guys seemed to be interested in, they dated me to hopefully get closer to him. Well, all except the last guy. I'm pretty sure he wanted to actually date my brother. So, I told myself I would stay away from anything related to hockey, hold out on telling them who my brother was and try and have a stable relationship for once. I thought I was finding that with you, but…"

Levy stopped short and started sobbing again. As she buried her face in her penguin shaped pillow, Gajeel reached over, wrapping his large arms around her frame and gently picked her up and placed her in his lap. Pushing away the pillow, he cupped the sides of her face and looked into her damp hazel eyes.

"Who said you didn't? Levy, I like ya, I like ya a whole lot and I'm willing to share every single detail about my life as far back as you want if it means I get to spend even a little more time with ya."

Calloused thumbs traced over red, flushed cheeks as a pair of hazel eyes met with crimson. A smirk danced across his usually stoic face.

"I want to know how you know my brother. You two obviously had some sort of relationship in the past that goes beyond just a rivalry on the ice."

Dropping his hands from the bluenette's face to pinch the bridge of his nose, Gajeel gave a loud sigh and sorted his thoughts for the best way to answer.

"A couple years ago, there was a big controversy surrounding the Phantoms. Ring any bells?"

Levy nodded her head, "A bit. I didn't really pay all that much attention at the time, but I guess I'm familiar."

"Well, the Phantoms were on a major winning streak, but along with that winning streak there was a trend. Before every game a major player from the rival team would always end up injured prior to the game and they'd end up sidelined or on the injured reserve list. I didn't have the greatest reputation on the ice, I played rough and usually spent more time in the penalty box during games, so the league didn't think twice about conducting an investigation surrounding me. There was no concrete evidence I was the culprit but I was the best candidate and, well, it's not like I was well liked enough for enough people to come to my defense."

Gajeel looked deep into Levy's eyes and very firmly stated, "It wasn't me. A few hours before our game against the Cyclones, Fizz – Fernandes, err...your brother, grabbed me by the collar and pulled me aside to confront me."

Levy was surprised when Gajeel stood up from the bed, his fists tight and the muscles in his forearms near bulging from the tension he was holding. He was pacing back and forth as he told his story, crimson eyes showing a fierceness Levy had never seen before.

Continuing to pace about Levy's room, his eyes darted to different areas of the floor and Levy could tell he was reliving the moments, " I told him straight up I wasn't the one responsible and I had no idea who was. He believed me. One of the game officiates saw us and thought we were fighting; we were yelling at each other pretty loudly, but definitely not fighting."

"You were the one that punched him and broke his nose, weren't you?" Levy's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"You're jumping to conclusions! Yes, I did slug him, but I thought he set me up, so I got pissed. I also hit the officiate and that kinda ended things. They couldn't pin the other player's injuries on me without actual proof, but they sure as hell pointed the finger at me. We settled out of court, so I don't have a record, but they took everything away from me. I loved playing hockey, I swear I'm innocent and I'd do anything to get back on the ice again."

Levy inwardly sighed, she had never seen Gajeel so uncomposed, so raw before. The iron giant she portrayed him as in her head had been broken down to scrap metal. She believed him, she had no doubt in her heart or mind that what he was saying was the truth, he had far too much passion for someone who had done these despicable deeds to speak so fiercely in defending himself. He may have set the tone for the accusation but he had not not done the deed, and that she was certain.

"I believe you."

Gajeel's eyes widened and he looked, truly looked at the woman in front of him. Her blue hair was a wild mess of curls, black eye makeup streaked across her cheeks and down her eyes, and the warmest of smiles was shining brightly on her face.

"Ya ain't just saying that to get in my pants, are ya shorty?"

"What?! Gajeel, no!"

"I mean, I'd let ya in, regardless, but the buttering me up isn't a bad thing.

"GAJEEL!"

"Gihi! I'm just playin' ya. That means a lot shorty, thanks. Really."

Returning her smile, he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss against her forehead. He took too long with his thoughts about taking his kisses further because right at the moment. He finally decided to make a move when the door swung open to reveal Jellal sporting a devilish grin.

"Handcheck!"

In one swift motion, small hands pushed his chest and successfully shoved him from the bed, landing on his butt against the orange shag rug on the floor. He glared up at the blue haired man and muttered under his breath, "Cock block." Glancing back at Levy who would currently give a tomato a run for its money he had to stifle back a laugh from escaping.

"Let's go Redfox, we're going on a trip."

Jumping off the bed to scurry over towards her brother in hopes of helping relieve the thoughts of her and Gajeel being caught in a questionable embrace, Levy gave him a questioning look.

"It's pretty late, where are you going?"

"Your house is dry, I'm going up the road to the 24 hours place."

Gajeel picked himself up from the floor and followed the siblings down the hallway to the living room. Levy was making a point to not look him in the eye, but it hadn't been hard to see the red face she was failing miserably at hiding. He smiled smugly to himself, proud that he was able to make her lose her composure so easily.

"And I have to go because..?" Gajeel asked begrudgingly.

"Call it male bonding," Jellal eyes shifted to look towards his younger sister who was absent mindedly staring at the floor, "Nugget, you look like Halloween gone wrong. Go wash your face, we'll be right back."

Levy scampered off to the bathroom, relieved to be free of Gajeel's scrutinizing gaze, as the two men zipped up their coats and walked outside. Gajeel looked over at the sleek black sports car Jellal was heading towards and shook his head.

"Oh, hell no. I already had an intense makeout session with my knees earlier today thanks to shrimp's car. You couldn't pay me enough to get in that little fancy-ass deathtrap. I'm driving."

Pulling away from the small house, Gajeel drove in the direction of the Circle K, he knew exactly where it was since Lily and him had frequented the place on more than one occasion. It wasn't until Gajeel had turned out of Levy's quiet neighborhood that Jellal broke the silence.

"What all did you tell her?"

Glancing towards the blue haired man sitting in the passenger seat Gajeel half smiled, "I told her why I don't play hockey anymore. She believed me, by the way. She also figured out I was the one who had broke your precious little nose. Things were getting good before someone went sixth grade on us."

"And?"

"And I didn't tell her our exact history. I know that's what you're digging for!"

"She doesn't need to know every detail, I'll vouch for you enough."

"Oh, will you now?"

"You know I will. But, because of that, I know sides of you that I don't ever want to see if you're going to be with my sister. Take care of her."

Gajeel couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, "I will."

…

" _How the hell did you get yourself into that mess? Am I not able to go on vacation and come back to some normalcy?"_

"This is exactly why you're not able to go on vacation, Cana! I'm pretty sure the last time you went, I had some crazy ex-girlfriend of Jellal's stalking me, thinking I was his next fling."

" _Haha! I remember that crazy bitch! Do you need me to come get you and save you from the rising testosterone?"_

"No, I'm okay. But I do need to see you soon. Let's plan for Sunday?"

Levy fiddled with the tassels on the fleece blanket as she readjusted the cell phone and waited for Cana to reply.

" _Planning on being busy tomorrow, eh? I can hear you glaring through the phone, calm down princess! Haha! Sunday, it's a date! I'll talk to ya later."_

"Bye Cana."

Levy tossed the cell phone down and watched it bounce against her bed before she allowed herself to fall back and become one with the pillows and blankets. As full as her mind was of various thoughts surrounding the men in her life, her consciousness soon won over and she succumbed to sleep, not even hearing as the two men re-entered the house. She was completely unaware of the large, black haired male of the two finding her sleeping so uncomfortably. He saw to it she was properly placed under the covers and tucked into her bed with a brief kiss on her forehead.


	7. Chapter 7

"Beer or something stronger?" Jellal stood just outside the beer cave contemplating his options.

"Are you asking me or the air? Personally I'm fine with beer, I can't do the hard stuff like I use to." Gajeel was standing just behind the blue haired man with a scowl on his face and his arms sternly crossed over his chest.

"Beer."

Gajeel rolled his eyes and trudged behind Jellal as he made his way to the counter and paid for the night's refreshments. As the pair walked back out to his truck he tapped the unlock button on the key fob, illuminating the parking lot with flashing headlights. Before Gajeel had managed to secure his seatbelt in place, Jellal spoke up with a question he had not been expecting.

"So, how is Levy?"

Gajeel wasn't sure he had heard him correctly, lifting a sardonic eyebrow towards the man sharing the front cab with him, he huffed before starting his reply, "That is your sister you're asking about, you do realize that, don't you?"

Jellal's face turned red and a look of pure disgust radiated from the hockey player, "Yes! That is my sister! Where the hell is your head at?! Both of them for that matter! Because I swear Gajeel Redfox if you―"

"Whoa! I am not discussing this with you, but if you gotta know I've barely even made out with the shrimp!"

Jellal's complexion returned to normal and the steam once emanating from the man seemed to evaporate. Gajeel took the calmness as his sign to finish snapping his belt in place and start the drive back towards Levy's house.

"What's this, Redfox actually has respect for the fairer sex?"

"Oh this coming from you is golden," Gajeel laughed, "your track record is about as long as mine."

"I've never dated my sister and had a need to be concerned." That statement had sounded quite different in his head, but after speaking it aloud he cringed at the words.

"Thank Mavis for that." Gajeel couldn't help but continue with his mirth and shook his head in laughter as Jellal attempted to redeem himself somehow. "But no, she's good, she's happy. Or at least I get that vibe. We're not official, but I intend on changing that, just forewarnin' ya."

Jellal smiled, "She does seem happy. She's never bailed on me before and here lately; she's been bailing a lot. I always felt bad for leaving her by herself, so I visited a lot and she would crash with me sometimes in Crocus. When I got a pretty serious girlfriend about a year ago, she stopped coming to see me as often. She travels a lot for work, my girl that is, so I started coming back down here and I noticed a few changes with her. I followed her around for a bit."

"You stalked your sister." It wasn't a question as much as it was a blatantly true statement.

"You make me sound like a crazed fan-girl."

"Or a brother with a serious sister complex." Gajeel added.

Jellal's eyes shifted, the statement wasn't exactly false but it also didn't make his case look any better. "Anyway, you can imagine my surprise when I found out the guy she was seeing was you."

Gajeel could only imagine the emotions and thoughts the man must have had when he had found out. Gajeel didn't know what it was like to be an older brother, but just placing himself in his old friend and rival's shoes long enough to realize the magnitude of that notion had him quaking to his core. He didn't have the best past, though it was better than most, it was still enough to give a protective older brother a sense of dread. And this particular older brother knew more than the tabloids and rumors.

"I aint that guy anymore, I got my act together after I lost my hockey career. I had a side girl up until I really noticed Levy. Did she tell you I turned her down the first time?"

The corner of Jellal's mouth turned upward in a snarky grin. No, he had not heard about this.

"Yeah, I told her I was out of her league, she was too much a princess. Even that friend of her's tried to put me in my place, but I wasn't havin' it. Then, oh damn, she lit me up one day on the ice."

Gajeel half concentrated on the road as a smile spread across his face while he recalled that particular day, "She did some crazy ass hockey move and effectively shut my mouth while also sending it to the floor. She was something else, and that's when I finally told her I'd go on a date with her. Pretty sure she stole my heart along with that damn hockey puck right out from under my nose."

"Isn't that just the sweetest? No more playboy ways?"

Jellal was speaking seriously now, the humor in his voice gone and replaced with genuine concern for the younger sister he held so dear.

"Long gone, along with the phone and the number I had to keep in contact with all 'em."

"That would be why I couldn't get a hold of you." Jellal muttered to himself.

"Ya tried callin' me?"

"Hell yeah, I wanted to know what you were doing with my baby sister!"

"Two can play that game; I was curious what you were doing with Levy. I kept seeing your car and then tonight…" Gajeel trailed off thinking of the events earlier in the night. "I thought I was being two timed and she's not even really my girl. Yet." He added matter of factly while pointing a finger at the man beside him.

Jellal merely smiled and looked out the passenger side window while Gajeel shook his head and made the last turn towards Levy's house. If he were lucky, she'd still be awake and he could spend some time with the feisty little lady and attempt to better explain things. He could only go up from here, especially now that he had the dear big brother backing him up.

Pulling up to the curb and shutting the truck off, the two men sauntered up to the house. Jellal pulled out his spare key and slid it into the key slot with a twist, pushing open the door and allowing them to step inside.

"Nugget? You still alive?" Jellal announced to the quiet house.

Gajeel moved past the blue-haired man and darted down the hallway towards her room. Pushing the door open, he smiled at the sight before him. Laying in a tangled mess of blankets and books was the petite woman herself. Gathering the assortment of literature, he placed them on her desk and walked back over, scooping her up in his arms to allow him to properly pull back the blankets and lay her atop the bed sheet and pillows. Grabbing the covers, he pulled them up while bending over to place a kiss against her forehead. Levy stirred in her sleep and a serene smile ghosted across her sleeping face. He smiled back at her and turned on his heel to walk out of the room, switching off the light as he gently closed the door behind him.

"She's asleep," Gajeel said as he walked back into the living room. Jellal was already starting on the twelve pack they had just returned with, "save some for me why don't ya?"

Jellal tossed the pierced man a can as he settled down in the lounge chair and popped out the foot rest allowing him the ease of kicking off his boots and relaxing back in the seat.

"I still can't believe you asked me how your sister was in bed."

"I did not inquire as to my baby sister's bedroom antics!"

"Could have fooled me."

The two men sat mostly in silence after that and it wasn't long before the living room was filled with deep snores emanating from the both of them.

…

"It was quite a sight, I woke up the next morning and they were both passed out in the living room. Gajeel was sprawled out in the chair and Jellal somehow managed to fit lengthways on the couch." Levy sipped on her mimosa as Cana cooed at her beloved fish. "Are you even listening to me right now?"

"I am! But isn't he just so cute?" Cana turned around to see Levy lifting an eyebrow at her and pursing her lips, "Okay, okay. Well I guess they patched things up then right? How much beer was left over?"

"What does the beer have to do with anything?"

"A lot actually. If it was empty they talked for quite a while and only passed out due to drinking, but if there was a fair amount left, then they were obviously comfortable and just passed out because all was good between them." Cana grabbed her own goblet full of the orange drink and plopped down next to Levy on the couch.

"I didn't exactly count the cans, but I put a good amount in the fridge before they woke up."

Cana took a long sip of her drink and nodded her head, "See? That's good! They didn't keep resorting to the beer! So are you and Mr. Ex-Hockey Player a thing yet?"

Levy's face turned to a near pout, "No. I mean, I can tell he likes me, he called me his girl when he thought I was… _with_ Jellal but he's not made any major moves. We've shared a few kisses though, that's about it. I'm getting rather frustrated to be honest!"

"Are ya now?" Cana gave the girl a devilish smirk and wiggled her eyebrows. Levy rolled her eyes and took another drink from her mimosa.

"You're incorrigible."

Having finished her drink, Cana lifted herself from the couch and strode into the kitchen to make another. Cana was running low on champagne and she knew Levy wouldn't be up for a stronger substitute this early in the day, but she, on the other hand, was more than ready for one. She grabbed a bottle of vodka and decided a screwdriver was just as good, if not better. Pouring the drink into her orange juice the sound of the door opening pulled her attention elsewhere.

"Ya know, I have like this sixth sense whenever someone touches a bottle from my stash."

Levy giggled and waved at the man who was tossing his jacket over the back of the couch,

"Hello, Bacchus!"

"Levster!"

Bacchus continued into the kitchen where he eyed Cana pouring herself a drink, she merely smirked at him then strutted over and planted a kiss upon his lips.

"I was nearly out of wine babe; what other choice did I have?"

Levy shook her head and pondered for a moment, "Cana, we have five bottles of wine, we've not drank _that_ much since I've been here."

Cana's eyes shifted downward as another smirk spread across her face, "Heh… we _had_ five bottles, I was making my drinks fairly strong. Okay, really, _really_ strong." She mumbled the last bit under her breath but it had still been heard clear as day.

In a swift motion Bacchus swept the brunette off her feet and into his arms, cradling her close, "I love when you're this drunk in the day, you tend to let me experiment more." He whispered, loudly, to her. Cana erupted into a fit of giggles and kicked her dangling feet as she chugged back her drink and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Well, this is my cue to leave!"

Levy chugged her mimosa, coughing slightly over the last dredges of her drink, and set it on the coffee table - you couldn't pay her enough to go anywhere near the kitchen at this point. She waved goodbye to her giggling friend, not bothering to look for a return wave, and gathered her things before jogging out the door. She turned the lock on the door knob, pulling it closed behind her. She shuffled down the hallway towards the elevator, only slightly tipsy from the drinks she had been sharing with Cana. Pulling out her phone she tried bringing up the Uber app as she rode the elevator down to the lobby, only to be mildly frustrated with the slow connection while inside the steel box. Giving up her pursuit of letting the app load, she shoved the phone back into her purse and decided to try again once she was outside.

…

Gajeel stepped out of the weight room and walked over to the wall of mailboxes, fishing out his keys he found the tiny one he was looking for and unlocked the box. Out of the corner of his eye a wave of blue passed by him and he instinctively turned his head.

He knew that ass anywhere, "Shorty?"

The woman stopped and turned around slowly, confusion marring her gentle face, "Gajeel? Why are you here?"

"I live here…remember?" He grabbed the stack of mail and slammed the door of his mailbox shut before walking over to where Levy was standing.

Realization dawned on her and she perked up causing her to stagger a bit, "Oh. Oh! You do live here, I had forgotten."

Gajeel laughed, he noted something off with her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly it was, if anything she seemed overly happy and slightly unaware. He looked her over a bit, taking in the fact that she was still looking as if she was trying to remember something else. The way she bit her bottom lip was cute, but paired with her doe-like eyes and her fluttering dark eye lashes just made it sexy as hell and he internally groaned. She was currently playing at the hem of her skirt and even though she was wearing black tights he could still see the perfect definition of her thighs and when the thoughts had gotten to be too much for him he spoke up again.

"What brings you here? I was hoping you might be trying to surprise me, but the fact you forgot I lived here crushed those dreams."

Levy let her hands drop to her sides and smiled up at him, "I was visiting Cana. But Bacchus came home and he was obviously horny and, well, it doesn't take Cana much to get to that point and I got the hell out of there before the idea of a Levy sandwich could be thought up! Then I tried using my phone in the elevator but there's no service in there, so I got mad and figured I'd do it outside then I heard you and turned around and started talking to you and now here I am. I'm also hungry."

Gajeel tried as best he could but ultimately he failed and broke out in a fit of laughter, tears fell from his eyes as he gripped at his stomach, the laughter only intensified the pain from the workout he had been enduring prior to running into Levy. Finally, he realized what he couldn't pinpoint earlier.

"Shorty, you're drunk."

"No, Gajeel, I just said I'm hungry."

The way she stomped her little foot to emphasize her point nearly gave him a heart attack, ' _Dear Mavis, she has no idea what she does to me. The little minx.'_ He thought to himself. He wrapped an arm around her waist and he couldn't help the smile that lifted as he felt her lean into him.

"Tell ya what, let's go up to my place and I'll make us something to eat. Though first, I probably need a shower."

Gajeel noticed her lean in slightly, "You do smell like sweat. Sweat can be sexy, but a man who can cook is even sexier." She hiccupped and giggled.

"Well, then you're in for a real treat, shorty." Gajeel smiled and guided her over to the elevator.

His arm left her waist only to unlock his door and hold it open for her as her allowed her first entry into his apartment. His apartment had only one bedroom but a massive living and kitchen area as well as a half bath in the living area to coincide with the larger bathroom inside the master suite. Gajeel watched as she walked to the middle of the room and began looking around. He was thankful that he had actually managed to clean the place recently.

Stepping up behind her, he placed a hand at the small of her back and bent low to whisper into her ear, "I'll be right back, make yourself at home."

Before leaving her side, he kissed the corner of her lips and then retreated to his bedroom and the bathroom within.

Shedding off his workout clothes he stepped into the stream, only then did it finally hit him that the woman he was undeniably in love with was in his apartment, alone in the living area. Gajeel was never one for quick showers, but he did what was required in a record amount of time and escaped back out to his bedroom. Throwing on some clean clothes he grabbed the towel and began drying out his hair as he walked back out to where Levy was.

He studied her for a moment, watching as she gently traced the blade of the hockey stick he had hanging on his wall. Her face looked sad and something twisted inside of him. Making large strides across the room, he tossed the towel towards the laundry room as he approached her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist he rested his chin gently upon her shoulder.

"Do you miss it?"

He lifted his head from her shoulder, mindlessly tracing her skin through her shirt with his thumbs as he stared up at the hockey stick, "Every day. Hockey was my life, when they banned me, I didn't know what to do. Teaching the kids is great and all, don't get me wrong, but it's nothing compared to being on the ice during a game with the lights high and the rink sold out."

Levy twisted in his arms to face him, gently bringing her hands to either side of his face as she caressed his skin, "I'm sorry."

She had nothing to do with what had happened but her apology was genuine. It pained her to see him still hurting over it and forcing himself to wear his coaching mask knowing the inner turmoil he must be facing.

They stood there gazing into each other's eyes for a few moments before eventually meeting in the middle, lips colliding. The kiss was gentle, yet fierce. Gajeel released his pent up emotions, drawing her in closer and moving his hands up her body to where they rested at her neck and gently stroked his tongue along her lower lip. Levy responded with an innocent moan escaping from her throat and welcomed him in.

She tasted of orange juice, champagne, and heaven. Dropping his hands back to her sides, he hooked them just under her delicious derrière and slipped her legs around his waist. The kiss was momentarily broken by Levy's squeal of surprise but in the seconds that followed, she secured her legs around him and replaced her lips atop his. Gajeel carried her over to the couch and allowed himself to fall back against it with Levy resting above him on his chest.

One of his hands found its way to her back and rubbed up and down her spine, causing Levy to make the most wonderful of noises against his lips, the other rested against her cheek. They broke apart to take much needed breaths. With Levy smiling above him, he gently stroked her velvet skin and said the words he'd been wanting to ask for a long time coming.

"Be my girl?"

As if her smile couldn't get any more beautiful, it did, "It took you long enough to ask." She kissed him again and against his lips muttered the word, 'Yes.'


	8. Chapter 8

The hours had long passed by and the two of them had lost all track of time tangled in each other’s arms. Kissing the tip of Gajeel’s nose Levy squirmed her way out of his hold, laughing at the groans her now-boyfriend made as she detangled herself from his well-toned arms. She pushed up off the couch, just narrowly escaping his reach.

“Get back over here, shorty.”

Levy giggled and skipped to the middle of the room, glancing around at her surroundings. She was clued in to a few moving boxes still stacked in the corner and walked to them. After a short perusal, she turned to question him.

“You’ve lived here for how long and still have stuff packed in boxes?”

His head picked up off the arm of the sofa, “Actually, I’ve not been in this place that long, I use to live in a different apartment here.”

He sat up on the couch and smoothed his hair back, “Back at my old place, I had a gym in the spare bedroom and I guess there were a lot of noise complaints from the apartment below me. They said my weights dropping on the ground caused a leak in their water pipes, so I moved a few floors up and lost my in-home gym. Those boxes there are the smaller weights and such. The bigger stuff I moved over to Lil’s house.”

She gave throaty chuckle, shaking her head, “Why does none of that surprise me?”

Levy peeked into one of the boxes. Smaller weights and a few lifting belts stared back at her as well as some gloves and chalk. Closing the box she continued looking around the apartment Gajeel called home. He watched her from his spot on the couch, still slightly put-off she had managed to escape his hold on her. Smirking to himself, he slowly stood, softly padding in socked feet to sneak up behind her. 

“What are you up to?” 

Levy jumped, arms lashing out wildly to land a hit on whatever had managed to scare her then quickly covering her mouth to muffle the scream that she had managed to let slip as two arms wrapped around her shoulders securing her unruly limbs. His warm breath tickled her ear before his lips slowly traced down the contour of her neck, leaving warm kisses in its path. She bit her lip as she gripped his forearms, leaning her body back against his expansive chest. Even through layers of clothes she could feel the muscles against his chest, she felt safe, warm and she’d be lying to herself if she said it also didn’t make her the least bit excited.

“Am I not allowed to be curious?” She asked with a bite of her lip and her doe like eyes staring up.

“You wanna be curious, I got the perfect place for you to be curious.” 

He scooped her up into his arms, ignoring the tiny squeak she allowed to escape from between her lips and made for the bedroom. He plopped her onto his oversized bed, barely setting his knee into the mattress before she shot up and grabbed his bedside clock. 

“It’s already this late!?”

Gajeel slumped forward, planting his face in his pillow, grumbling and gripping at the sheets on either side of him to stifle his frustration. Rolling his head to the side and wrapping a single arm around Levy’s waist he groaned again.

“You’re so dramatic, Gajeel,” Levy giggled while twisting her body around to place a sweet kiss against his lips, “call me a cab while I go use your bathroom.” Placing the clock back on the nightstand she stood and walked towards the bathroom.

“Why can’t I just drive ya?” He asked the closed door.

Stepping out from the bathroom Levy just smiled, “Gajeel, you have to wake up just as early as I do for work. I’ll take a cab back tonight and let you know when I get home, I’ll be just fine! I’ll text you as soon as I walk in my door.”

“I don’t even rate a phone call? That hurts, shorty.”

Levy laughed and wrapped her arms around the grumbling man, “Because I know you’ll never get off the phone with me! Not that I would mind, but Mondays are bad enough without having a night lacking in sleep to add to the list.”

“You could stay here, I have an extra toothbrush.”

The smirk on Levy’s face and the flutter of her eyelashes as she batted them back at the brute while slowly shaking her head gave him the answer he had already known would be accompanying his suggestion. 

Gajeel sighed, realizing he was not winning this battle anytime soon. Then again, it was his own fault he had asked her to finally go steady on a Sunday night. He made a mental note for the proposal to occur on a Friday, or a very long holiday break. With this he smiled as he wrapped a single arm around her and with the other grabbed his phone to call Levy a ride home. 

…

“Coach Lily, why is Coach Redfox being so weird? He’s not yelled at us today and to be honest, it’s freaking me out!”

Lily laughed as he looked out on the ice at the overly happy head coach, it was true, he hadn’t yelled the entire practice and there had been more than enough occurrences that called for a good scolding or two. He had heard from his longtime friend first thing this morning that he had finally made things official with Levy and he couldn’t be happier for the two of them, but in all honesty this team was in some major need of shaping up if they wanted to stand a chance at the state finals.

“Oh, that’s because he went and got himself a girlfriend. Go tease him, maybe it’ll make him mad enough to get his blood flowing and he’ll get back to his normal grumpy self.”

A wide smile took over the face of the team captain as he abruptly turned around and took off on the ice spewing an array of insults and jabs at his newly non-single head coach. It didn’t take long for Gajeel to get fed up with the teasing and he had the team doing suicide drills mere moments later, something the team was more than thankful for. They’d much rather deal with a grumpy coach than a love sick, sappy one and Lily couldn’t help but agree.

As practice came to a close and Gajeel was satisfied with what he had thought was sufficient enough punishment for their earlier antics he sent the team home with the promise of an even harder practice tomorrow. 

“What do you have going on tonight, Lil? Shorty said she was going to cook up a big dinner and wanted me to invite you two over.”

“Ah, we’re on house rest, Shagotte’s contractions have been increasing here lately so she’s not leaving the house for that just in case factor and I have been put on high alert. It took a lot just to get permission to come to practices!”

Gajeel laughed in his usual odd manner and patted the man on the back, “Are ya ready, Dad?”

“That makes me sound old.”

“You are old.” Gajeel snickered. 

Lily grunted in reply as the two of them packed up the leftover practice equipment and put it away in the sport’s supply closet. State finals were a little over two weeks away and Lily was crossing his fingers he’d be able to be there to help coach as well as support the team. His wife was still a good three weeks away from her due date but the doctor had told them he wouldn’t be surprised if she were to go into labor any day now, though he’d much prefer the baby stay put for at least another week.

“What about you?” Lily asked as he watched his friend lock the gym door.

Gajeel raised a studded eyebrow, “What about me?”

“You know, kids. When do you think they might happen for you?”

Gajeel froze in his walking towards his truck and slowly turned around with a horrified expression spread across his face that only made Lily laugh and smile a very cocky looking grin.

“Are ya stupid?! I only just snagged the shrimp! Don’t ya think asking about kids is way too soon and not to mention creepy as hell? I mean I’m fairly certain if I said the k word around Levy she’d run for the hills.”

Lily couldn’t hold it in, he finished walking the distance to his own truck and using it for support he leaned his back against the vehicle and bent over in side splitting laughter. Tears were falling from his eyes has he filled the parking lot and beyond with his deep guffawing. 

“The look on your face Gajeel was worth it all. You’re the stupid one, of course I didn’t mean now! But you’re not getting any younger and I’d like to have a niece or nephew at some point! Five years should be good enough, and then maybe someday Charle can babysit. Can you just imagine a tiny little Gajeel running around?”

“Can you just shut up?” Gajeel deadpanned. Feeling a vibration from his pocket he dug his cellphone out and loudly sighed a breath of relief at the image smiling back at him, “Saved by the phone!”

Swiping his thumb across the screen to accept the call he brought the device up to his ear and answered, “Hey, shorty!”

“Hello my tall, dark and handsome boyfriend.”

Gajeel snickered, “Don’t make it sound like you’re guilty of something and you’re trying to suck up. You home yet?”

Meanwhile, Lily was in the background rocking an imaginary baby in his arms and blowing kisses to the air, the man had a legitimate death wish Gajeel had decided. 

“Just leaving the school actually, ran a bit late today trying to catch up on some grading. Are Lily and Shagotte coming over?”

“Sadly, Lily will not be able to accompany us tonight as he is about to be brutally murdered in the parking lot of the school if he keeps up with his shenanigans.”  
The sweet sound of laughter erupted through the phone, “What is going on over there?”

“You really don’t want to know. Anyway, I’ll be heading your way soon, see ya in a few.”

“Gajeel...aren’t you forgetting something?”

Lily watched as Gajeel’s demeanor changed, he suddenly became rigid and yet antsy, pacing back and forth in front muttering into the phone about how he hadn’t forgot about losing the bet and the consequences of such he just didn’t want to do it in public. To say Lily was intrigued would be an understatement. He crossed his muscular arms across his broad chest and leaned back against the car waiting to see how this panned out but what he witnessed was something he never for a moment would have expected.

“Kissy, kissy, huggy wuggy this big cuddly teddy bear can’t wait to see his little blue bird,” the words were said in the most monotone voice ever known to man and as soon as the last word left Gajeel’s lips the phone call ended and the offending object was shoved deep into the depths of his pocket.

Lily blinked, “You are...”

“One more word and I will…”

“...so…”

“..shove that hockey stick so far up your…”

“WHIPPED! Gajeel Redfox is whipped!”

Succumbing to defeat Gajeel draped the upper half of his body over the bed of his truck, his long hair cascading down to block his face, hands gripping at the side of his head he groaned loudly. Standing upright again, he pushed his hair back and stuck a finger in Lily’s face.

“One word, just one word of this and you’re a dead man!”

Lily guffawed as he pushed himself off his own vehicle and moved to the driver’s side door, “Oh I can die a happy man after what I just heard.”

Gajeel wasn’t given another chance to warn his best friend before the truck started and pulled away, even with the windows up he could still hear the laughter echoing inside the cab. Shaking his head and running a hand through his hair in frustration he stepped up into his own truck, started the engine, took a long and deep breath and drove away from the school.

…

The air was much cooler in Crocus due to the mountains but it was still warm with the sun high in the air. Levy had never been one for big cities; she much preferred the calm atmosphere of Magnolia Town, which was about as hustle and bustle as she liked it to be. She remembered many years ago when her parents were still alive coming to Crocus as a family, she had been gawking through a book store’s window and managed to get herself separated from her family. It had taken Jellal over an hour to finally find her, and whereas she’d never admit it out loud but she had been terrified of cities ever since. 

“I still don’t think I like this,” She grumbled.

“Need I remind you that this was your idea, nugget?” Jellal stopped short to turn around and look at his sister who was currently adjusting the strap of her purse high upon her shoulder and biting at her lip nervously. 

“Yeah...but, I just- I feel like I’m lying, you know?” She shifted uncomfortably as she looked up at her brother.

“I’d hardly consider it lying, just take a deep breath and let’s just go see how far we can get here,” He turned to continue walking towards the stadium but stopped after a few steps and turned back around, “Where does he think you are? And with whom?”

Levy’s face scrunched as tears welled up and began to fall with the force of a waterfall, “He thinks I’m in Hargeon shopping...with Cana.”

Jellal smiled as Levy burst into tears, “Oh so you are lying!”

Teasing his sister had always been a past time for Jellal, though he never teased her to the point where she was genuinely hurt by it but it was enjoyable to him to push the limits of just how far he could go. It came with the title of big brother, he was allowed to tease her, just like her being an annoying little creature growing up came with the title of little sister. They’d always been close, rarely had they ever had an all-out fight, most parents would have been thankful for kids like them, but he never could pass up a good opportunity to really lay it out on his little sister.

“I don’t want to do this anymore, I’m going home,” not even realizing her own movements Levy gracefully spun around and started back in the direction of her brother’s car.

“Oh no you don’t, this was your idea, and a good idea at that,” Jellal turned around just barely in reach of Levy’s hand as he grasped it and pulled her back slightly, “let’s get that guy back on the ice or at least be able to say we did everything within our grasp to.”

Levy stared off; she felt her nerves creep up within in but shook them off realizing her brother was right. She wanted this for Gajeel and if there was a chance her coming here could help him she’d take that chance. Her eyes moved over the large building in front of her, the first stop on the road at trying to get Gajeel his hard earned passion-driven career back; Crocus stadium, home of the Cyclones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos and/or review! Thanks and much love!


	9. Chapter 9

The serene sound of ice skates gliding and then scraping across the ice was a grounding force to Levy. At one time the rink had been a second home to her; and of course she had to sing her praise of it for introducing her to Gajeel. She needed a date with the ice, and soon.

“Fizz!” A man with a build that could rival her boyfriend’s strolled towards them, Levy knew him from description alone, Orga Nanagear; head coach of the Crocus Cyclones.

“Coach.” Jellal tipped his chin up in greeting.

“Wasn’t expecting you back until tomorrow,” Orga’s eyes trailed over Levy, “and who might you be? I thought Fizz’s woman was a fireball?”

Levy snickered. “She is. I’m his sister, Levy.”

Orga grabbed her hand, shaking it with enough enthusiasm to pass as a member of her very own fanclub. “Levy McGarden? You could be a pro!”

“I’m sorry?” she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“Your figure skating, you could be a pro. I’ve heard about you, and seen tons of videos. And damn if you’re not handy with a stick and puck too!”

“Jellal can have the fame, he more than makes up for the share I prefer not to have. I do it all for enjoyment and just for fun; I’ve no interest in going anywhere near professional status, but thank you!”

A stream of curses came from the rink behind Orga. Turning around he hollered at the group of rowdy men about a lady being present and to watch their language. Shouts of apologies bounced off the walls followed by cat calls that had Jellal rolling his eyes and glaring at certain individuals.

“Anyway, coach,” Jellal started, “I’m back early because she was hoping to speak with you about something and someone. Is there somewhere a bit more private where we can discuss things?”

Orga nodded his head and motioned for the siblings to follow. Levy trailed behind Orga with Jellal close behind her; the massive man held one side of the double doors open leading into a long hallway, after passing through, the coach pointed towards a door just a few yards down and continued leading the way. Fishing a set of keys out of his pants, he unlocked the door and ushered the two inside.

The walls were decorated in banners, pictures, awards, and various other articles of memorabilia dealing with the NHL. Orga propped himself against the corner of his desk and offered the two chairs opposite his desk to Levy and Jellal.

Once seated, he crossed his arms and spoke, “Talk to me.”

…

“Tiny baby socks.” Gajeel was simply amazed socks could actually be sized so small.

Lily stepped up beside him, the eyebrow above his scarred eye lifted, “Remind me again why you’re here?”

“Levy is gone for the weekend, she’s with Cana and I’m bored.” He said simply, placing the socks back in their respective drawer and moving on to the next.

“What did you ever do with yourself before getting a girlfriend?” Shagotte asked from the hallway.

Lily choked and swallowed his laughter. Turning his head slowly Gajeel glared at his best friend, his eyes daring him to say another word on the subject. Lily threw his hands up in defeat muttering something about staying out of it.

Shagotte stepped inside the room and crossed her arms glancing back between the two men, “What’s going on?”

Turning towards Gajeel she stared at him fixedly; despite him being nearly twice her size and with arms that could essentially break the woman in two she still intimidated the hell out of him. She held her ground, silently demanding his answer or there would be hell to pay.

Gajeel gulped, “I uh...had other friends.”

“Now I know for a fact that besides Lil you maybe have two friends from the school. Spill it Gajeel Redfox.” Shagotte stuck her hip out and leaned against the baby’s crib, his silence was grating on her and when it went on for too long she shot forward with a finger to his face, “Gajeel, were you a player?!”

Lily grabbed his stomach, bending over in uncontrollable laughter. Gajeel merely saw this as the perfect opportunity for an out and smiled big, “Yes! I was a hockey player! And I just remembered I have some unfinished laundry I need to attend to so I shall be off! Great talking to you guys!”

Whizzing past Shagotte, Gajeel waved to Lily, who was still trying to catch his breath, and escaped out their front door as quickly as possible.

Shagotte shook her head then turned to face her husband who quickly stood back up straight and went quiet. “I know he’s hiding something, Pantherlily. So long as he is good to Levy his past doesn't matter, as curious as I am though.”

“My dear, he was a celebrity; I’m sure you can only imagine.”

...

Turning over the engine in his truck and shifting into reverse Gajeel backed out onto the small neighborhood road and started driving back towards his apartment in the city. If he were lucky, Levy was back by now and (crossing his fingers,) at his place. He debated taking the freeway into the city, it was by far the quickest route but today he opted for the long way- the back way.

With his window rolled down and arm propped up, Gajeel let his mind wander as he turned the volume up on the rock ballad playing on the radio and flooded the cab with the beginning of ACDC’s Thunderstruck. They had often played this song prior to his team arriving on the ice for game days; it was one of the few that was always a sure fire way to get him pumped up.

He sighed, shoulders slumping as the song hit its mark and took off. He missed playing, and he missed it bad. He agreed what he had done was wrong, but there were current players who had done and known to be still doing far worse. He was tempted to give his old coach a call right then and there when a familiar mercedes pulled out in front of him.

Following the little red sports car all the way to his complex he caught himself sighing again when only a tall brunette stepped out of the car and shut her door.

“Oi! Did ya drop her off at home?” He shouted across the parking lot, taking long strides towards her car.

“Dropped who off?” Cana spoke too soon, the flash of confusion and anger across Gajeel’s face had her quickly reassessing herself but the damage had been done.

As the towering man whipped around to stalk into the complex, phone in hand, Cana grabbed her’s in a flash, racing to phone Levy before Gajeel could get inside.

“Hello?”

“Babyblue, I don’t know what you’re doing but the next time you use me as a cover up, tell me why don’t ya?”

“...What do you mean?”

“I just encountered that boyfriend of yours, and whatever we were supposed to be doing, he now knows we’re not.”

There was a long silence on the other end of phone and Cana briefly thought the call might have dropped, but then Levy spoke.

“I’m with my brother, I’ll handle it. I’m sorry Cana. He’s calling me now, so I need to go.”

“Good luck!”

By the time Gajeel walked into his apartment he had phoned Levy half a dozen times, he figured the drunk had got to her first. He took a deep breath to help calm himself, this was Levy- his Levy, and she wouldn’t just outright lie to him. There was a reason she didn’t give him the full truth and normally, he was an ask questions later kind of guy but this was Levy, and with another deep breath he dialed her again.

She answered on the first ring, “Gajeel.”

“Levy.” Inhale. Exhale. “Where are ya?”

“Christmas shopping?”

The questionable tone in her voice was more than obvious.

“In May? Listen, Levs, what’s going on?”

There was a rustling on the other end, leaning against his counter he ran a hand through his hair as he continued listening and then someone else spoke up

“Redfox? It’s me, Fernandez; Levy is with me in Crocus. I asked her to come with me and told her not to tell anyone, so there. That’s why as far as you knew she was shopping in Hargeon. Be mad at me if you’re looking for someone to be mad at, but not her.”

…

Sitting across from the siblings Orga looked impressed, and as Jellal finished the conversation with the ex hockey player he roved his eyes over Levy. She noticed and popped an eyebrow up quizzically.

“She tamed Redfox.” He hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

Levy gave him a crooked smile, “You say that like it was a challenge.”

“I’m sure it was, it’s Redfox we’re talking about! I mean, I know we just sat here and discussed plans to get him back on the ice but damn… you really, seriously tamed him.” He shook his head and smiled, pointing a finger at Jellal, “He was a bigger womanizer than this guy, and even he was pretty bad!”

“Erza tamed him just fine.” Levy concluded.

Orga’s face drained of color as his eyes met with Levy’s, “Have you met Erza? That woman could tame Satan himself.”

Jellal couldn’t contain his laughter, “Damn right she could. But yes, I had a difficult time believing it at first as well, my sister and Redfox I mean but, it’s genuine. The guy is head over heels for her. He was willing to beat my ass because he thought I was making a move on her before they were even official. Had to come clean about the whole being siblings thing.”

“Now that we have established my relationship with Gajeel Redfox, are you willing to help us? Help him?” Levy said pointedly.

“Absolutely. I never really agreed with the ban in the first place, there’s been worse things done and even some that are still going on and no one bats an eye. They just had it out for him bad and took the first chance they got to stick it to him. It helps his ban isn’t recorded as permanent, and I can’t promise anything soon obviously seeing as this season is already finished but maybe we can do something for next season. Anyway, give me some time to work and I’ll keep you in the know; you do your thing too and we’ll get that guy back on the ice real soon.”

Jellal nodded in agreement and satisfaction while Levy smiled, a bright and happy smile that had Orga willing to walk through fire; it was then he realized how this little lady had secured the heart of Gajeel Redfox, one of the fiercest hockey players to ever skate on the ice.

Their goodbyes were quick, Levy stating she had some major damage control to handle and Orga just reassuring her that with a quick smile and a flip of her hair Gajeel would probably be prostrating himself at her feet in no time. The coach had insisted on letting her use one of his preferred drivers to get her back to Magnolia rather than the train and after much reluctance she finally accepted the offer and was on her way back home.

…

Something didn’t quite add up. While it was true she was with her brother, why hadn’t she just told him that to begin with? Jellal had been covering for her saying he told her not to tell anyone and going through the motions to keep it all a secret, using the excuse she had been with Cana just didn’t sit well with him. Jellal was her brother, why lie about being with him? Gajeel’s head was pounding, his thoughts were relentless going from one extreme to the other. Tossing back a few tylenols and downing a large glass of water he collapsed on his couch with his head in his hands.

Levy had texted him saying she was going straight to his house upon her return to Magnolia. Glancing at the time on his cell, he noted there was a still a good two and a half hours before the next train was due into the city and that was if they were running on time; it was times like this he wished he still had the gym equipment in his apartment. Grunting he stood from the sofa, quickly swapped his casual wear for gym attire and sauntered down to the shared gym in his building. A good workout would help relieve the tension and stress on his body and mind.

Two hours later and covered in sweat Gajeel took the elevator upstairs and tirelessly strolled through his door. His mind was on a hot shower and downing a gallon of water that he didn’t even notice Levy sitting on his couch.

    …

A cloud of steam erupted from the bathroom as the door opened and out walked Gajeel, a towel strung low on his hips barely covering himself while he worked another towel through his long black hair. She couldn’t help but stare, she’d seen the posters and the various photo shoots that glorified his body but to actually see this work art in the flesh was a totally different story. He still hadn’t noticed her, or maybe he had and was angry with her. Whatever the reason it didn’t defeat the fact she really wanted to trace those water droplets falling down his torso with her tongue.

She couldn’t handle this anymore, and she wasn’t just referring to the status of her heart, though it clearly couldn't handle much more of the view either, if the man hadn’t realized she was there by now then the sound of it going absolutely insane should no doubt alert him. She cleared her throat softly and quickly averted her eyes when his expression locked onto her.

“Levs,” she heard his gasp.

Stealing a quick peek Levy noticed he dropped the second towel around his waist to make up for some additional coverage.

“How long have you been here? I wasn’t expecting you for a little while longer. Shit.” Running a hand through his wet hair he stumbled over his words.

“An hour or so; I knocked but you didn’t answer and the door was unlocked so I let myself in, I’m sorry.” Levy stammered, a hot blush searing across her face; damn was her boyfriend gorgeous.

Gajeel shook his head, water droplets flinging across the room, “Nah, it’s fine. Don’t apologize. How’d you get here so fast though?”

Squeezing her eyes shut Levy squeaked, “Canyoupleasegoputsomeclotheson?!”

Quickly realizing he was still standing in his living room sans clothes save a towel, he turned around and went into his bedroom. Levy was positive had the mood and situation been different he probably would have teased her, and any other time she would have been able to fully appreciate the state her boyfriend was in and possibly, against her demure nature, taken full advantage of it as well.

Reappering a few moments later Gajeel sat next to Levy on the couch, shuffling on the cushion to face her fully. She noticed the marked space between them and hated it, loathed it; she itched to move closer, take his hands, crawl in his lap, anything at all at this point but she didn’t blame him for the space, she probably deserved it.

“Let me explain,” she started.

“First off, I want to know how you arrived back so quickly. Did Jellal seriously drive you all the way back only to turn around and go back to Crocus? I know he has hockey stuff going on this weekend.”

Taking a deep breath and meeting his red eyes Levy spoke, “His coach sent me back with one of his drivers. I tried to decline, but it was no use so they sent me in what they claimed was his least flashy car. It was still flashy enough.”

Gajeel blinked, “ Coach Orga? You were at the stadium? Levy, what I don’t understand is why you felt the need to lie to me about who you were with. It was your brother, I know the relationship between the two of you now so what’s the big deal? And don’t give the shit that he said to not tell anyone.”

Levy fought back the tears threatening to escape, “I’m sorry, I should have just told you. I really had nothing to hide, except he is helping me with a bit of a surprise for you, can’t you just trust me?”

Gajeel chuckled and shook his head, “Yer asking me to trust ya when ya just lied to me about bein’ with yer brother?”

Levy swallowed, realizing how right he was. She should have just told him to begin with, he wouldn’t have questioned the why as to being with her brother. She didn’t blame him for not being fully trusting with her, she’d earned that and now she had dug herself a hole despite the whole cause being for him.

Gajeel smiled and took one of her hands lying in her lap, Levy stared down at their entwined hands; a tear escaping and running down her cheek. Suddenly she found herself enveloped in her boyfriend’s strong arms and cradled against his chest. Just as quickly, she wrapped her arms around him and released her pent up tears, drenching his shirt.

“Levs. Levy, look at me.” Gajeel gently pushed her away from his chest and cradled her head in his large hands, stroking her temples this his thumbs. “I trust you; with all of my being. You made a stupid mistake, but that’s what life's about; makin’ mistakes. I should know, I’ve got a wrap sheet of ‘em! It’s how you learn from ‘em is what really counts. I trusted you before and, I trust you now. You can keep your little surprise, and fill me in when yer ready.”

“I don’t deserve you.” Levy blubbered.

“HA! I’m the one that doesn’t deserve you, darlin. Now, it’s late and I would really like it if you stayed. Will you?”

Levy blushed, “I don’t have anything with me to sleep in.”

Gajeel nibbled at her ear as one hand wrapped around her waist and the other traced patterns on her side, “I’m sure you’d be fine with one of my shirts. And, I don’t particularly plan on sleeping..” he trailed off, kissing down her neck.

Her breath hitched and she gasped as he sucked at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, “Me neither.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Please enjoy this update and I apologize for it taking so long...the next update will not I promise! HAVE FUN!


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